


Stuck With A Dragon

by YustinaMishka



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Animal Traits, Bucky Has No Sense of Personal Space, Canon Disabled Character, Crack Treated Seriously, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Frenemies Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Memory Loss, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Mutual Pining, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Possessive Bucky Barnes, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Scenting, not exactly dubcon but let's just tag it to be safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-09-26 22:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YustinaMishka/pseuds/YustinaMishka
Summary: Steve was never a fan of sitting through injustice.Ever since he was a lanky kid with rattling lungs and weak bones, Steven Grant Rogers already had a sense of justice that was ten times bigger than him. Now, as the top agent of SHIELD which works to rescue, protect, and rehabilitate magical creatures from all over the world, Steve must overcome the most difficult mission of his life.If only the familiar blue eyes of this dragon would stop making his stomach churn.





	1. Hey, Buck

Steve was never a fan of sitting through injustice.

Ever since he was a lanky kid with rattling lungs and weak bones, Steven Grant Rogers already had a sense of justice that was ten times bigger than him. People used to think that he was a lost cause and always pinned Sarah Rogers with a pitying look. Her boy could barely pack a mean punch without coughing and it already spelled a lot of trouble for the family.

Sarah did not listen to her neighbors, though. She knew they meant well but her belief in her son’s pure heart triumphed over any linger doubts. The lady would have been very proud of Steve if she saw him right now.

Steve Rogers, a twenty something years old man with a height and build of a greek god, is now part of SHIELD which works to rescue, protect, and rehabilitate magical creatures from all over the world. Steve was fondly referred to as ‘Captain America’ or ‘the captain’ by his teammates due to his reputation to be a stickler for justice, but he never let the silly title get into his head. He was born a boy without the ability to conjure magic and the only thing special about him was the super serum that made him into the weapon that he is today; he was pretty sure there were lots of other folks more special than him at this point.

“Rogers, can you please get your ass in here? Stark is going to set us all on fire.” Natasha’s voice rang over the comms and Steve bit back a chuckle at the annoyed tone that laced her voice.

“Got it,” Steve replied as he signalled the other SHIELD agents to take care of the feral chimera that he just put down, “Where are you and what are you dealing with?”

Steve heard a loud whooshing noise and cackle of fire which was later mixed with a very angry roar. Tony was already cursing up a storm while Natasha not so subtly spat in Russian, “By the looks of it, it’s probably an adult dragon but we can’t be too sure. We haven’t actually seen it. It’s like a volcano down here. We’re at the west side of the building, third floor.”

“Great party. Can’t miss it, cap!” Tony butted in.

Steve rolled his eyes and quickly ran to the other side of the building. He was listening intently for any updates on the situation but it appears his team was stuck on a standstill. Steve’s heart pounded as he reached the main source of fire and explosions. Dragon cases always made his heart go weak and agitated. Those icy draconian eyes would never leave Steve’s memories.

“For the love of—“ Tony yelled exasperatedly, “—my ass is burning in here. We’re trying to help you, Godzilla.”

The creature sneered and spat more lava-like substances at the man clad in an iron suit. Tony was quick enough to avoid the spray but not without badmouthing the dragon. Natasha quickly pulled off her leather gloves and cut a deep line at the back of her hand, murmuring old incantations, and slapped against the concrete floor. Stretchy lines of blood colored ropes emerged and wound itself around the struggling creature. The dragon roared and bellowed angrily, snapping its large snout at the magic trapping it.

“Steve, it’s angry!” Natasha cried out, struggling to contain the huge beast.

The blond made a jump from the ground floor and climbed his way until he reached the broken railings and glass pieces of the third floor. The heat and smoke made Steve cough a bit but he ignored it in favor of looking for the body of the creature. It was a huge mass of black scales but it was hard to see with all the fire. Steve patted his pockets and reached for a card with an entrapped sleeping spell in it.

“Please, don’t be mad,” Steve grimaced and jumped stupidly into fray. He could hear Tony reprimanding him but the blond ignored the other. The dragon’s eyes quickly darted to Steve’s descending form, already poised to attack the man, but Natasha’s powerful blood magic managed to stop the creature before it could even move.

Steve slapped the card unto the dragon’s skin and muttered the trigger word for it to release. The magic within erupted into a thick cloud of smoke and sank into the scales in a blue light. The dragon roared angrily and slapped Steve away like he was a ragdoll.

“Rogers, you stupid son of a bitch!” Tony yelled over the comms.

Steve was quick enough to catch himself but a sickening crunch made his heart freeze. The dragon was not ordinary. It had untangled Natasha’s blood magic on its own. What the hell was going on? Normal dragons don’t usually—

A loud boom echoed throughout the area, the dragon’s powerful tail slammed against the building’s foundations and rocked the whole place until it felt like a massive earthquake. Steve heard Natasha’s distressed yell and was shocked to see that the building collapsed on her. Tony didn’t need further instructions and flew right into where their teammate disappeared into.

“Tony, get her out of here and make sure she gets looked after,” Steve commanded as he circled the agitated dragon.

“Uh, no-can-do,” Tony hissed as he dragged Natasha’s trembling body out of the rubble, “You’re getting your ass outta here too, capsicle. This dragon’s probably some sort of HYDRA weapon. There’s no way it could have that much intelligence, unless—“

“A dragon shifter,” Steve finished with a sniff. Dragon shifters were extremely rare and families with that kind of bloodline were celebrated back in Steve’s time. They were seen as wise and powerful people capable of good futures. Steve knew intimately well what it’s like to be in a dragon shifter’s favor.

_‘Stevie, I’m a shifter. I get all the perks, yeah? Don’t gotta worry ‘bout nothin’ when you’re with me.’_

Steve swallowed down his grief at the memory as he eyed the dragon. Those same icy orbs were making Steve feel so nostalgic that he temporarily felt himself losing focus. It couldn’t be.

“Run!” Steve screamed just in time before he bolted for the opposite direction, ducking past an angry snap of sharp teeth. The dragon stomped in rage and swiped its tail to catch Steve, which only worked momentarily. Tony cursed and carried Natasha but not before releasing a freezing substance that momentarily trapped the beast’s legs to the concrete floor. The two flew into the air and watched as Steve tried to handle the situation single-handedly. They wouldn’t have allowed that, under normal circumstances, but Natasha was losing a lot of blood and they couldn’t afford to delay their retreat.

“Hey, I’m comin’ back for you, Rogers,” Tony yelled over as he sped through the air, “and you better be still alive or I’m hiring a necromancer to bring you back from the dead so I could kill you myself.”

“Yeah, sure,” Steve answered distractedly, running out of breath as he jumped over fallen debris and tried to avoid the dragon’s fiery breath.

Steve rattled his head on what to do with such an agitated creature. He couldn’t run from it forever so he had to think of a plan or else he’s getting cremated alive. Dragons were fiercely territorial creatures. When they see a threat, just like what Steve is right now, these enormous creatures usually resort to killing the threat on the spot. That is, unless one discovers their weak spot. But this particular creature may also be something else. Something more intelligent, and that just makes things more complicated. If this thing could untangle magic on its own, then there’s a high possibility that it’s a shifter. It would easily see through Steve’s game and everything would fall into ashes.

Oh, well.

When all else fails, there’s this one plan that Steve could always rely on.

_Punch your way out of it._

“Sorry about this,” Steve winced between soot covered lips as he curled his hand into a fist and punched the dragon’s face with the equivalent of his whole body weight. The dragon roared in pain and was thrown back to the opposite side of the building, crashing into the thick pillars and breaking more property.

The dragon was shocked momentarily before shaking its head and snarling at Steve. The man refused to falter and dove right back at the dragon which was getting up. The beast swiped, bit, and roared until Steve could barely see through anything anymore. His strength matched equally with the dragon and it looked like they’ll be ending in a stalemate. The creature was confused and more enraged at the fact that a tiny human could match its strength.

With one last kick, Steve was able to send the dragon sprawling. The two were on opposite sides again, breathing harshly and shaking from hours of exertion. Steve easily saw the nervous flutter of its tail and the angry desperation in the dragon’s icy blue eyes.

It was scared.

“Hey,” Steve coaxed gently but the dragon made an anxious grumbling noise, “It’s okay! I won’t hurt you— we just want you to calm down, alright?”

The dragon, seemingly understanding human language, squinted its eyes in distrust.

“Okay, I did punch you hard but you hurt my friends so we’re even,” Steve explained and the dragon simply snorted a puff of smoke.

‘Think, Steve!’ the man thought to himself as he watched the dragon’s inquisitive stare. The creature was too tired to get up but it didn’t mean it wasn’t going to attack when it recovers. Steve had to think of a way to get the dragon to trust him. Overpowering it was usually the way between dragons but the creature could misunderstand it as an insult rather than a proof that Steve just wanted it to listen and submit to him. Maybe—

“My name is Steve Rogers,” the blond started calmly and lifted his hands up in surrender, making sure that his belly was also exposed and his head slightly bowed in respect, “I work for SHIELD and we protect all kinds of magical creatures.”

This has to work or Steve can’t think of anything else. Dragons and shifters usually never gave out their real names willingly. Names had power over them and to give it to another was to present full submission or acknowledge dominance. If this ultimate form of surrendering didn’t work, Steve would be toast. Literally.

The dragon sniffed as if to acknowledge Steve’s submission. The other man walked slowly to approach the dragon with caution. The creature remained still and patiently waited for Steve to reach its side. It wasn’t like it could go anywhere. The pure exhaustion had rendered the dragon immobile. The whole time, Steve kept uttering matters regarding SHIELD and how they wanted to work against HYDRA and its filthy business of enslaving creatures and humanoids.

The dragon had snarled nastily at the mention of HYDRA, though. So, Steve made sure not to mention it again. He only talked about the other rescues that happened within the week but the dragon remained extremely cautious.

“We just want to get you home,” Steve smiled with every ounce of sincerity he has and his heart broke when the dragon made a confused and hurt noise.

It was only when Steve was close enough that he noticed that the dragon had a metal leg. It was covered in thick soot but the gleam of silver plates was unmistakable. The limb must be uncomfortable from the way the scales were growing over it in an awkward way, exposing pink flesh that looked irritated and painful.

“They hurt you, didn’t they?” Steve asked firmly and the dragon merely moved its snout to cover the limb, as if Steve seeing it would make it any less of a creature.

“May I sit?” Steve asked again as he patted the floor, “Sorry if I’m in a talkative mood. You remind me so much of someone back then. I’m guessing this is also good ‘cause you’re not attacking me.”

The dragon made a weak complaining noise at the back of its throat but Steve laughed it off and sat comfortably on the admittedly searing hot cement floor. Thank the heavens for the magic embedded in the threads of his suit that automatically adjusts to normalize Steve’s body temperature.

“SHIELD agents are coming,” Steve regarded the dragon with seriousness again, “if they see you attacking me, they won’t hold back to compromise. This is your last chance. We really just want to clear out this camp and leaving you behind is not an option.”

The dragon growled and snapped weakly at Steve. Its pupils turned into slits and it vibrated with raw fear and anger once again. The blond made comforting noises and lowered his head again just to calm the dragon down.

“Please,” Steve begged, “just trust me, alright? I ain’t gonna put you in a dangerous situation like HYDRA did.”

For a moment the grumbling stopped and Steve instinctively barred his neck. He always used to do this way back in olden streets of 1930’s Brooklyn. It always got his desired result, though Steve never truly learned why. The cold nose that pressed against him should have been expected, like back in the old days, but the man still flinched and gasped. The dragon made a huge sniff and nudged Steve until he was flat on the floor.

What the—

The dragon purred, legitimately purred like a cat; its eyes no longer feral but possessive and interested. Steve didn’t know what barring the neck meant but he guessed it worked. Maybe?

Perhaps Steve should have taken an elective on Dragon Etiquette.

* * *

The ride back to SHIELD headquarters had been interesting.

Everyone was excited to see the dragon but the hulking creature didn’t feel the same way. It snapped and snarled at the agents even if it’s obvious that it couldn’t even stand. The most interesting part was it would go berserk whenever Steve would be snatched away or if someone else touched him.

Tony made sure to put that on instagram and snapchat.

“Didn’t know you were a dragon’s man, cap,” Tony snickered immaturely even if he had a massive black eye. Steve wondered if he’ll look like a panda if he added another on the left.

“It’s probably just spooked and it didn’t want anyone touching it,” Steve sighed.

Tony made a smug little noise and tapped mindlessly on his phone, “Yup, except for you.”

Steve groaned tiredly and stripped off his gloves. He was too exhausted for Tony’s antics and he knew that the billionaire would not stop blabbering if Steve continued to react to the brunet’s ribbing. Living with Tony Stark was a nightmare but that’s just how things were.

Natasha had been sitting irritably at the countertop of the kitchen, sipping juice like a pissed vampire. There was an IV bag hooked to her right arm and that alerted Steve that the red head shouldn’t even be out of the healers’ care.

“Nat...” Steve trailed off but the lady glared at him to shut up.

“You catch the dragon?” Natasha asked with an arched brow though it twitched since the stitches are being pulled from the movement.

“Yeah, it’s secured,” Steve relented and raised his hands just so he doesn’t unconsciously start a fight. He respected Natasha’s strength and he had a healthy amount of fear for her killer thighs.

“Good,” Natasha purred and slid of the counter, dropping the empty juice box into a trash can, “We have an interesting follow-up assignment. Turns out Fury didn’t exactly tell us everything about our new neighbor.”

Tony snorted, “When did the man ever give us full details, though? But! I am going back to the tower and go to bed. Or rather— I will stay up in my workshop all night till I drop dead. You fellas are welcome to stay away and just mind your own business.”

“Suit yourself,” Natasha shrugged and pulled off the IV from her skin. Steve flinched and managed to swallow down his protest before being promptly herded by the slightly limping red head. The halls had been littered with several SHIELD agents but they minded their own business. Natasha’s resting bitch face must be effectively warding them off.

“What’s going on, Nat?” Steve asked as he pushed his hands into his pockets, “You don’t usually get affected by missions. Looks like you’re about to kick down a building.”

The assassin made a humming noise before pursing her lips, “You know how blood magic works, right? The side-effect of touching or controlling blood for me is that I would be able to see their history or whatever is going on in their head.”

Steve nodded and hummed his agreement.

“That dragon,” Natasha trailed off, “I saw bare bits of its history. It’s so broken that I could barely make out anything. I still saw things, though and— I saw myself.”

“Yourself?” Steve parroted questioningly, not quite getting what the other was trying to say.

“Yes, myself,” Natasha sighed, “Like I saw through the dragon’s eyes and I saw myself training in the Red Room; which is damn impossible because I’ve never trained with a full sized dragon before.”

Steve frowned, “So you’re saying this dragon really is a shifter and might be someone that you know from the Red Room.”

“Which Fury so kindly left out,” Natasha gritted her teeth and continued walking until they were headed to the lower basement where the bigger creatures were kept. Steve continued to follow her in silence as he let the information set in. Natasha Romanoff absolutely hated the side-effect of her blood magic but she managed to master fortifying her mental walls. Apparently, the dragon shifter’s strong memories were that painful to break down Natasha. Fury should have been a little more considerate in this matter. Natasha could have easily avoided getting rattled if she had a heads up.

“Where we goin’?” Steve asked when he got too tired of the silence. Natasha merely looked at him and explained that they needed to force the dragon shifter to shift back to its human form. It was easier to identify shifters that way rather than digging through their tough scales and examining DNA. Steve didn’t seem too pleased though. Forcing a shifter to turn back into its human form felt a little too invasive for him.

“We just have to see who this dragon shifter is then we’ll register the guy into the database,” Natasha explained further as she expertly slithered through the hallways, “It’s also easier to contain them in their human form, obviously. We don’t want to have to bathe and feed a dragon the size of a building.”

“You’re so sure it’s a guy,” Steve stated with an amused crinkle in his eyes.

“Well, I don’t know if you managed to miss the slit hiding that huge dragon co—“

“Okay, okay!” Steve relented as he covered his ears. Natasha barked out a laugh and jokingly punched him on the arm.

The two eventually found their way into a containment area where all newly-arrived creatures would be assessed and segregated. The whole place was made out of cold metal imbued with powerful defensive magic. It was very clinical and felt like a jail at the same time. For some reason, Steve felt a little claustrophobic.

When his shield was given back to him by an agent (after grueling hours of putting it back together after Steve so carelessly fought a chimera earlier), Steve felt himself become grounded. The gleam of the blue, red, and white comforted him like an old friend.

“I should have probably kicked your ass to the healers’ team but I know you’d just escape through the vents again,” Natasha said idly as she perched herself on the railings which led to a short set of stairs that descended down to a huge dome. There were medical personnel everywhere and they bickered and discussed medical matters with the resident healers.

“In my defense, it wasn’t my idea,” Steve chuckled as he leaned unto the railings, digging the shield into the back hook of the belt strapped on his chest.

“Clint is a bad influence,” Natasha rolled her eyes fondly at the memory of the deviant archer. Clint would have been so thrilled to meet a dragon.

“When is the dragon coming—“

As if on cue, a loud deafening roar boomed through the facility. Natasha grimaced along with the others as the roaring turned more high-pitched and angry. Steve felt himself gripping the metal railings harder, making finger-shaped dents that he’ll surely get scolded for. He didn’t care. The dragon made heartbreaking loud noises and it rubbed Steve wrong.

“Can’t they at least sedate the poor fella?” Steve hissed through his teeth as he watched a full team drag a metal container holding the dragon in.

“You think they didn’t try that?” Natasha asked with a smooth quirk of a brow though it was obvious in her stance that she was feeling agitated for the creature as well, “I heard this shifter was a specialized HYDRA weapon. The thing could probably burn through sedatives as fast as you do.”

“Right,” Steve answered mechanically.

The team of healers immediately flocked the dragon and tried to make the creature sleep. It took an impressive seven minutes and ten professional healers before the magic took effect. But even then, the shifter’s left eye was trying to keep awake. It sluggishly stared at Steve.

The whole time, Steve and Natasha watched with focused attention while the healers and medical team fussed around the dragon. The two were instructed not to interfere unless it is absolutely necessary. SHIELD would try to coax the dragon into shifting through its healers but if it didn’t work— Natasha and Steve would be called to take control of the theatre.

It was an agonizing full two hours of endless prodding and taking samples while patching up the dragon. The metal arm seemed to be a problem since it helped the creature resist as much magic as possible. Steve was starting to feel his exhaustion when the dragon moved and grumbled warningly. The sedatives and sleep spells must have worn off.

“Steve,” Natasha warned as she jumped off the railing, readying a dagger just in case she needs to call on her blood magic.

The team below started calling out security and they held on fast to the awakening dragon. The thick cuffs which plastered the creature to the floor were already creaking and groaning in protest as the dragon fought off its clutches. It only seemed to get angrier as the SHIELD agents tried to physically wrestle the thing back down.  
In one swift move, the black dragon managed to pull off the cuffs from its hinges and effectively thrown off all personnel like they weighed nothing. Steve and Natasha were quick to have the healers evacuate the area while the blaring alarms went off. Steve huffed and grabbed his shield to protect the team from falling debris.

“Nat, get them all out of here. I’ll secure the exits!” Steve yelled over as he assisted a couple of scientists who were cowering under his protective shield. They were simply there to retrieve samples and be on their merry way; not get tangled up with an angry beast.

The red head wasted no time in following orders. Every staff member was herded promptly out of the only available exits that were safe and wide open. Steve, on the other hand, manually closed the metal doors which malfunctioned due to the dragon’s fiery breath. He really just can’t take a break with this one. One would say it’s as stubborn as Steve.

The other SHIELD agents were still in the lower dome, shouting incantations here and there to weave a sort of magical net to restrain the dragon. It only worked for a few minutes before the dark scaled creature learned how to untangle the net. The agents cursed and were forced to retreat as the dragon stomped and roared.

“Hey, hey!” Steve shouted from the railings and jumped down between the dragon and the retreating agents, “Stop it! You’re going to kill someone!”

The dragon took a few seconds before it finally registered what was said. Suddenly the whole area became eerily silent as it eyed the stubborn human with a shield who seemed to have no sense of self-preservation. The huge thing sniffed and bent down, nudging its snout closer and scented Steve.

“Yeah, pal. I get it,” Steve laughed a bit nervously as he barred his neck, “Docs can get kinda spooky sometimes but we gotta—“

The dragon purred and licked the entirety of Steve. What little SHIELD agents were stuck in the dome openly gaped together with Natasha as the creature enthusiastically nuzzled and licked at the super soldier. It didn’t help that Steve kept barring his neck while laughing. Did he not know—

“Oh god,” Natasha stifled a laugh, “Stark would be so pissed he didn’t see this.”

“Captain Rogers,” an agent muttered hesitantly but they didn’t seem to be heard. Barring of one’s neck meant something entirely different for dragons and shifters. They were confused if Steve was aware of this or he simply did not have the capacity to think straight at the moment.

The dragon was, at the very least, calmer and more docile under Steve’s wandering hands. The man seemed to be a natural at calming huge beasts especially dragons. No one really wanted to complain but the neck barring really shocked them. It was a bit— too intimate in their opinion.

When the creature finally stopped purring and scenting Steve, it hulked over and made sure the man was under its belly as it protectively curled around him. The dragon snarled and barred its sharp teeth; a threat that should anyone dared touch the golden haired man below, death would be imminent.

The agents were frozen still until Natasha walked over and showed simple signs of submission. The dragon snorted a puff of smoke and eyed the lady with barely concealed wariness. Steve struggled underneath the warm dragon belly and yelled, “What are you doing!? Get off, buddy. No one’s threatening anyone.”

The dragon snorted again but let Steve crawl out from under it. Steve sighed in relief once he got out but was surprised he got a lap full of dragon head which was intent to pin him to the floor. It kinda looked like a big dog with its wet tongue lolling near the ground. Steve softened a little at that.

“I’m guessing that our friend here has a Steve-shaped sedative,” Natasha smirked and pointedly ignored Steve’s pout. She’s going to have a lot of fun reciting this tale to the team on a drunken Friday night.

* * *

Steve really wanted to say no to this assignment but Fury was adamant that he take it. It’s not that the blond had any particular dislike for missions like this but he felt in his heart that he wasn’t qualified for what the man was asking from him. Then again, maybe Steve also hated being stuck in one place for a long period of time.

“For the last time, Rogers,” Fury sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “There’s literally no better man to be sent out for this job. If we send one more SHIELD agent out there, we’re going to run out of staff.”

“I just don’t understand why it has to be me,” Steve argued stubbornly as he hooked his thumbs around the loops of his belt, “I am untrained to care for dragon shifters. Hell, I didn’t even take an elective which focuses on draconian related creatures.”

Fury merely quirked a brow and walked back to his desk. Steve pressed his lips into a thin line as he watched his superior calmly pull a drawer open and gracelessly throw a thick white folder. The blond stared at the folder intensely and immediately recognized his own named stamped on the lower right.

“You do know we run background checks on each agent. It won’t come as a surprise that Steve Rogers from the early pre-war Brooklyn, first non-magic user to be ever imbued with both scientific and magical work, would have a thick pile of data from birth to alleged death. It’s just how protocol goes.”

“What are you trying to say?” Steve huffs, feeling a bit trapped.

“What I’m trying to say is you’re not exactly unfit to care for a shifter as you say you are,” Fury stated with frightening calmness and ease.

Steve immediately knew what he was talking about and it rubbed him off the wrong way, “Sir, with all due respect, I can’t go through that again.”

“I understand,” Fury looked back at him grimly, “But you must also understand that your work is to help those who are in need. This shifter underwent some serious trauma that ain’t for the weak of heart, Rogers. If there’s anyone who can deal with dragon strength and PTSD, it’s you.”

Steve cursed himself as he felt his resolve immediately crumble. Fury was right and Steve hated it. The dragon shifter was abused and treated like a weapon by HYDRA. Whatever it went through, it must be very serious if Fury himself wanted Steve to be involved in its rehabilitation. Steve knew he was being a bit selfish by trying to get as less attached to the shifter as possible but he could not ignore the ingrained instinct of his to help those who need him. It’s just that Steve isn’t sure if he’ll survive getting close to another shifter again. Not after—

“What exactly am I supposed to do, sir?” Steve relented, hoping that his memories would stop making his stomach churn unpleasantly.

“You help us get the shifter to calm down and turn back into its human form. It’s quite obvious that if our mystery resident insists on keeping its dragon form while under extreme stress, it will deteriorate and succumb in a matter of months.”

Steve swallowed audibly and licked his lips, “Fine. I’ll do it— but this means I’ll be off coven duty.”

“Always hate those damn witches and their flying juices?” Fury laughed. It was well-known knowledge that having to deal with the nasty kind of witches always involved exploding insides and rotting meat splattering on your face. The man understood the need to get away from those assignments.

Steve was already walking away when he heard Fury yell, “I’ll make sure Romanoff and Wilson gets all your missed coven assignments, Cap!”

Damn, if the dragon shifter won’t kill Steve then Natasha and Sam surely would.

* * *

Day one and two of Steve’s babysitting duties weren’t as productive as he would have thought. The shifter was still irritable but slightly more docile now that Steve was always around. It was obvious that the metal arm was giving it such a hard time but the dragon shifter would always snarl and snap at anyone who went near it, even if it was Steve.

The blond tried to reason with the shifter but it refused to relent. Needless to say, it was two days wasted on talking to a dragon shifter who wanted nothing to do with humans.  
After it was obvious that it needed to learn how to trust humans again, Steve changed his tactics. The man exerted much effort in trying to build a stable relationship with the dragon shifter, no matter how much of Steve’s old self was rebelling and warning him that it was a bad idea. Steve needed to this.

So it was a string of painfully long days filled with dragon related activities. Steve thought he’d suffer through it but he was actually having fun. Unfortunately, despite his steady progress with the dragon, he was not getting closer into making the dragon let its guard down.

The healers tried everything they could think of but it was only on the second week that something truly happened. Steve was extremely exhausted from his long nights of nightmare infested tossing and turning. Usually, Steve would be up before six but now he’s struggling to keep awake at seven. Sam, his best friend and previous roommate, had been gracious enough to order in a large cup of Americano. Steve already felt more alive just by the smell of it.

“Good morning,” Steve greeted the team working on the shifter. They smiled and chuckled at the sleep-deprived form of the blond but no one commented on his messy hair and slightly red rimmed eyes. It’s not like Steve would have enough coherence to listen. He was too busy gulping the hot coffee between his chilly hands.

The dragon snorted and got up from where it was being held. Its icy blue eyes tracking Steve’s movement until the man reached the inner part of the dome to start working.

The creature might have been very averse to human contact but it was clear that it favored Steve the most. The dragon wagged its huge tail and began thumping the floor in its happiness to see Steve again. The agents wobbled in their places and Steve lost his balance, effectively pouring hot coffee all over his hands.

“Ah, shit!” Steve cursed as the sting of the coffee burned his hands into a bright red, the empty cup now sitting helplessly in the middle of the coffee puddle on the floor.

The dragon yelped and made wounded noises as it tried to nose at Steve. The blond shook his hand of the excess coffee clinging to his skin and laughed off the worried grumble coming out of the shifter’s throat.

“Hey, I’m okay—“

The creature protested again and tried to herd Steve closer to it. The man relented and tried to assure that his super serum would make his hands heal faster than regular humans. It didn’t seem like the dragon believed him as it continued to coo and cry like it had stabbed Steve.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Steve assured it gently, “My hands are going to be—“

Fine, is what Steve wanted to say but his tongue was caught in his throat as a thin frost of ice snaked through his burned hands. The healers and other agents gasped as the dragon used its breath to cover Steve’s hands in a thin film of ice that swirled in snowflake patterns.  
Holy shit.

“You— What— how can you use ice!?” Steve freaked out a little bit with a disbelieving laugh. The dragon seemed offended that Steve thought it could do any less so it retaliated by licking Steve’s laughing face. The blond complained half-heartedly but he could not find it in his heart to reprimand the dragon. It did show a part of itself through cooling Steve’s burnt hands.

“You know, I’m getting kinda tired of not having a name for you,” Steve hummed as he allowed the dragon to purr, “The ice tricks makes me wanna call you somethin’ though, how about Snow?”

The dragon made gagging noises and glared at Steve like he was an idiot.

“Alright, alright,” Steve grinned, “Olaf then?”

The shifter growled and stomped on the ground, knowing full well that Steve was being a little shit. There was no way a majestic and ancient creature would be named after a character from Frozen. It was already bad enough that the shifter was subjected to hours of Steve’s ‘human learning experience’.

Steve laughed heartily at the reaction so the dragon licked him again to shut him up.

“Jerk!” Steve yelled playfully and got a croaked chortle from the dragon. Steve liked to imagine it was saying ‘punk’, just like the old ghost of his past would answer him.

“Winter then?” Steve asked hopefully, “I read in the files that some called you the Winter Soldier ‘cause you’re the only dragon which could withstand extremely cold temperatures. I ain’t callin’ you the asset like they did but maybe Winter would be okay?”

The dragon made a soft gurgling sound and placed its head near Steve’s feet. He’s guessing this is the closest to ‘yes’ that he’s ever going to get.

* * *

Two months after capturing the rogue dragon, Steve found himself staring at Clint who was walking the hellhounds like they were normal dogs. It wasn’t that Steve discriminated against them but the hounds were eerily creepy and sometimes smelled like rotten meat if threatened. Clint took it in stride, though. The archer was talented at making the hellhounds obey his every word. His own dog, Lucky, was another story completely.

“You have no right to be weirded out when you have a pet dragon of your own,” Natasha smirked and walked right next to Steve. She’s out of her uniform and just wearing a simple tank top, jeans, and sneakers.

“Not my pet, Nat,” Steve smiled and shook his head.

Natasha hummed and joined Steve in watching Clint go around the open space of the compound with hellhounds in tow. The dogs were obviously slowing down to match Clint’s human speed. It was cute.

“You know, Steve, we’ve had a bugging question for you,” Natasha started and Steve already felt himself tensing up, “I hope you don’t mind, though.”

“If this is about my non-existent love life again—“

The red head snorted loudly, “Oh, hell no. I tried my best, Rogers, but I know my efforts would be nothing if you’re not interested.”

Steve hummed as if to prompt Natasha to continue. It took several minutes before the other could spit out a question, “Who— who taught you to expose your neck to a dragon?”

The question shocked Steve a bit. So that’s what she was interested about? As long as Steve could remember, barring one’s neck was simply a way for him to calm a dragon shifter. It was instantly effective like some sort of magic spell. The shifter would immediately loosen up and press his face against the exposed neck; breathing in like it was the only clean air in the world.

“I— uh, I’ve had a best friend,” Steve croaked as his memories started to pile on him, “He was a dragon shifter and he’d get into a lot of fights because of me or some other stupid stuff. Sometimes the guys at the docks would taunt him too much. You know how it is. Dragon shifters were supposedly higher ranking people. They did not like him being there so— so, well, he’d come back to our little apartment stinking like aggression. I’d always expose my neck so he’d calm down.”

Natasha looked at Steve delicately but the other refused to meet the gaze, “His name’s James Buchanan Barnes. The best guy I’ve ever had even if he was kind of a jerk.”

The red head jolted a bit at the name but expertly schooled her expression into neutral. A warm hand pressed against Steve’s arm and he immediately knew the other was comforting him.

“Steve, did you— were you in a relationship with Barnes?”

“What!?” Steve shrieked loudly and his cheeks went pink. Clint immediately took notice of the noise and waved back at the two. Natasha shook her head and waved him away.

“Why would you assume that?” Steve asked again as his eyes surveyed the area, like someone was about to jump on him and arrest him for having feelings.

Natasha raised a questioning brow and crossed her arms over her chest, “Do you even know the effect of barring one’s neck to a dragon?”

Steve shrugged, “It’s a sign of submission.”

“Correct,” Natasha stepped closer, “but that’s not all. If you expose that part of yourself, it’s like saying you’re willing to offer your body and soul to the dragon. Bowing your head is the common sign of submission but barring the neck is more— intimate. It’s like you saying that you want to be the dragon’s mate or treasure.”

“That’s not right—“ Steve began to say when they noticed Clint crumpling to the ground as he cradled the ear with hearing aids. The man was gasping in pain as the other hellhounds whined and licked at Clint’s shaking form.

Natasha was quick on her feet and dashed towards the scene. It took a few seconds for the hellhounds to make some space for her since their instinct to protect was going into an overdrive.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Natasha asked in a subdued tone, keeping it soft and quiet just in case Clint’s hearing aid is making everything too loud for him again.

Clint chuckled while he adjusted the contraption. He was so used to non-magic hearing aids that sometimes he forgets that he can control and adjust his hearing capacity just through sheer will. He must have been dozing off again but what he heard certainly wasn’t normal.

“I think Steve’s friend finally caved in,” Clint gasped on last time as he massaged his head, “Ugh, that was way too loud. I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

Steve immediately bolted. The sound of Natasha and Clint’s worried protest was left forgotten as Steve’s feet carried him through the field and down the spiral steps of the lower basement. True to Clint’s word, there were panicked voices and an occasional shout here and there. There was a low grumbling noise but not nearly as loud as what the dragon shifter usually made.

“Captain Rogers!” cried a newbie healer who had watery eyes the size of dinner plates. The poor girl was scared to death.

“What happened—“

 **“St—eve!”** bellowed a rough voice from the cluster of healers and SHIELD agents near the edge of the dome. Steve’s heart skipped a beat at the sound. It sounded so familiar and possessive that he momentarily felt like a sixteen-year-old again. It couldn’t be—

There was another feral cry again before Steve found his footing and immediately bolted to where the sound was coming from. The healers parted and gave him frightened stares. The floor was covered in a thin film of ice while some parts of the walls were burnt black.

**“Где Стив?”**

Whatever Steve wanted to say died on his lips. There was a man who stood in the middle of the fray, where the dragon should have been, and his form had been trembling with rage and insecurity. The unruly mop of chocolate brown hair shrouded his face and rested in curls on his bare shoulders. His body was all muscle and scars that could compete with Steve’s own body. He was completely naked though some parts of him were covered in hair which definitely made Steve’s lizard brain go into an overdrive. The obvious metal arm that was attached to his left side was the only clue that this stranger was the human form of the shifter.

“Winter?” Steve tried again, his voice cracking.

The man merely looked up and stared at Steve with icy blue orbs. Steve gasped as he took in the familiar cheek bones and deep frown of his lips; the very features he so carefully drawn under poor lighting with shaking hands and charcoal covered fingertips as the noise of Brooklyn rumbled on.

That’s not possible—

“Bucky?”

Immediately, the sound of whirring metal plates echoed and a metal hand grabbed Steve by the throat. The blond super soldier made a choking noise as his fingers scrambled to remove the tight clamp around his throat. There was a warning and angry growl which made the SHIELD agents step back. Steve managed to open his eyes (he didn’t realize he had closed them) and stared at the enrage slits of his old friend’s pupils.

**“Who the hell is Bucky?”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! This is my first ever fic for the Marvel/Captain America Universe.
> 
> Stucky is super close to my heart and I just couldn't get enough. This old idea had been sitting in my laptop for several months. I wanted to put a little more magic into the Stucky fics and here we are! Originally, I just wanted to make single chapter fics for this pairing but meh.
> 
> Comments and kudos are widely appreciated! This is my first time to write for this fandom so do forgive the lapses. Thank you for reading!


	2. Read A Book, Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam shook his head in exasperation, “I swear, Steve. Google. It’s very helpful. If you’re being an old man about it then head to the library and check dragon behavior.”

_“Who the hell is Bucky?”_

Steve woke up with a gasp as the blaring alarms of the Tower screeched through all floors of the building. The blond blinked a few times before he finally registered that he indeed passed out atop his irritably too-soft bed. Memories came flooding in all of a sudden: a HYDRA camp being cleared out and demolished; a raging dragon shifter and James Buchanan Barnes, standing stark naked and asking who the hell was Bucky.

“Captain Rogers,” JARVIS’ voice echoed; an AI which Tony developed completely without magic, a fact that he loves to boast about every drinking night, “Sir, I believe there’s been a breach of the building. The intruder is headed straight to your direction.”

Steve groaned as he swiped his calloused hand across his tired face. He had no doubt that he must look like a mess right now, with dark bags under his eyes and three days worth of stubble. Whatever. It’s not like bad guys would give a crap about grooming and personal hygiene.

“Have you identified the intruder, JARVIS?” Steve asked as he padded down the room and searched for his uniform. It looked like his shoes were left near the bed but his current tactical uniform must have been sent to the wash. Looks like his old uniform will have to do.

“It’s Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, sir,” JARVIS answered carefully, “It seems that he found his way to the vents. I’ve been given clear instructions not to intervene without your express direction.”

“Fuck,” Steve muttered and looked at the ceiling as if Bucky was going to burst in anytime, “Where is he now—“

JARVIS was given no time to answer as the ceiling of Steve’s room caved in and out came bursting the human form of Bucky. He wore pants this time, which looked SHIELD issued, but no more than that. The shifter’s hair was a bit tangled and wild; a dangerous expression permanently etched on his face. If Steve were a normal human being, he would have peed a little.

“Sir—“ JARVIS started but Steve had raised his hand ever so slowly. Bucky tracked his movement like a wild animal waiting for his prey to dart away or pounce. There were still stray scales on his tan skin, Steve noticed. It was the only clue he needed to know that Bucky isn’t fully himself just yet.

“It’s fine JARVIS. I can handle it from here,” Steve reassured the AI. There was no other force which could handle Bucky as good as Steve. If the other SHIELD agents were called in, the brunet would surely be spooked and be trapped in a kill-or-be-killed mindset.

Without further prompting, JARVIS turned down the alarms and the automatic defensive system of the building. Thankfully, the scuffle of shoes just down the hall had stopped, just in time with the warning rumble from Bucky’s throat. Never let it be forgotten that James Barnes was a slightly possessive guy with a dragon’s temper. Steve knew well not to let that beast come out at this time.

“You know me?” Steve asked when the alarms had calmed and the eerie silence of the room was all that was left. Bucky’s eyes took in every detail of the blond until he met his gaze. The shifter didn’t answer right away but he made a soft call at the back of his throat.

“Steve,” Bucky finally rasped. It should be embarrassing that Steve’s legs felt like jelly when Bucky said his name but he couldn’t help it. Old habits die hard.

“What are you doin’ here, Buck?” Steve sighed a little too fondly for his liking, “You should be recovering, not sneaking into highly secured buildings and crawling into vents.”

The brunet snorted and shifted his metal arm, the plates whirring in a ripple, “Низкая безопасность”

“That’s low security for you, huh?” Steve smiled as Bucky puffed up like he was showing off. Tony would totally file a case for wounded feelings just for that comment. Not that Bucky would care. Steve’s pretty sure his old friend would keep sassing the younger Stark.

For a moment, the two awkwardly stood in the middle of Steve’s bedroom. Bucky seemed intent on pinning the poor guy with his sharp gaze, while Steve looked around helplessly like a baby at lost on what to do. Finally, Steve approached with much caution which was received quite well by the shifter. It almost looked like Bucky wanted him near.

“Why are you here, Bucky?” Steve asked again after he was near enough to be scented by the other, “Did they do something bad to you?”

Bucky sniffed and inched his way closer to Steve, the solid line of his body pressed against Steve’s very thin sleepwear, “Took my Stevie.”

“Took— wait,” Steve gasped, “Took me?”

The shifter nodded as he pressed his nose against the crook of Steve’s neck, which was an embarrassing shade of bright red. Bucky seemed pleased by the reaction and nuzzled more like a cat. Steve definitely did not pop a boner. Nope.

This is really not happening.

Except it is.

Steve was about to combust when he gently pushed Bucky away. The brunet made an irritated face and glared at Steve only to be cut off by a loud growling sound of his stomach. Steve blinked a few times before Bucky looked away in shame, a gorgeous pink dusting the shifter’s cheekbones. Oh no, Steve is really screwed. After several years of successfully hiding his not-so-platonic feelings for Bucky, Steve is undone by mere scenting and an embarrassed flush of cheeks. He was pathetic, really. Pathetically gone for James Buchanan Barnes.

“I have food?” Steve offered and a hundred-year-old dragon shifter should not look that delighted.

* * *

Bucky perched on Steve’s couch like a giant cat. If he had a tail, Bucky would almost surely wag it excitedly as he watched Steve work through the pristine kitchen. The deep content humming noise from the shifter made Steve smile as he worked.

A couple of minutes later—and an embarrassing battle with the microwave— Steve produced a mixture of goodies that were probably not meant to be eaten together. There were two plates of piled sandwiches filled to the brim with seasoned meat and vegetables; a bowl of cheese flavored popcorn; a cup of cut assorted fruits and two large bottles of water. Steve would have loved to prepare some good old fashioned home cooked meals but he was lacking some ingredients. Add in the fact that he has some sort of splitting headache, cooking is truly not an option.

Bucky patiently waited as Steve brought the disgustingly large quantities of food on the coffee table. The mindless murmur coming from the television, coupled with the smell of good food made Steve a little nostalgic. The only thing strange was that Bucky was not attacking the food yet. Back in Brooklyn, Bucky had the table manners of a pig when he’s in front of Steve. The man might have made the entire block swoon but he had the delicacy of a bull when faced with Steve’s cooking.

_‘S’good, Steve.’ Bucky would grin around a mouthful, ‘A man’s got to eat and you sure know how to make a mean stew.’_

“Go ahead and eat, Buck,” Steve chuckled when it was so obvious that Bucky was staring intently at the meat between the slightly toasted buns. The shifter even licked his lips after scenting the air.

Strangely enough, Bucky refused with a distressed whine. Steve looked at him questioningly before sharp nails latched on to Steve’s sleeved shirt and dragged him on the couch with a ‘thud’. The shifter slid down and pushed a helping of the sandwich on Steve’s lap, inquisitive orbs of blue staring into Steve’s own.

Oh.

Bucky wanted him to eat first.

“Alright, pal. Don’t say I didn’t try,” Steve chuckled and bit down on the sandwich. Bucky watched with rapt attention as the other man chewed and licked his lips. When Steve finally gulped down and smiled at Bucky, all hell broke loose.

Bucky attacked what was served on the table like a starving man. It was a mess everywhere but he pointedly left halves for Steve to eat. There were pieces of vegetables at every visible surface and Steve’s pretty sure a popcorn managed to get stuck inside his pajama pants. _How the hell did that even get in there?_

Steve really shouldn’t have made a big deal out of it. He really should have just squirmed it out but it was uncomfortable and his dick was going to smell like artificial cheese—which, no way!

But it would have been a smarter option in hindsight since now he tried to wiggle it out of his pants which consequently caught Bucky’s attention, and Steve really should put down that open water bottle but he’s a stubborn ass so it inevitably splashed on his crotch as he and Bucky struggled with getting the goddamn popcorn out.

“I really don’t like this day,” Steve sighed exasperatedly.

Bucky made a frustrated noise as he tried to wrestle Steve out of his wet pants. At the back of Bucky’s mind, wet clothes meant getting cold. Getting cold meant Stevie getting sick and—

“Off!” Bucky growled in panic as he tried to yank at the pants again.

Steve yelped in embarrassment, “Bucky, wait— stop! I’m gonna—“

The door suddenly burst open and the two stood awkwardly at a very confused Sam Wilson. It was an embarrassing position, with Steve hovering over Bucky while the brunet had his fingers down the stupid pajama pants with the obviously wet patch on the crotch. Bucky had the nerve to look like he was unpleasantly interrupted which made Steve want to combust, preferably right now.

“Sam—“

“Oh come on, man.” Sam groaned and slammed a hand to cover his eyes, his wings twitching in distress, “I went through a lot of shit for you Steve Rogers but this is crossing the line!”

Bucky hissed like an irritable cat.

“It’s not—“ Steve pleaded but Bucky pressed his face even closer to his dick and what the fu—

Sam shook his head and moved to turn away, “Warn a guy!”

With that, Sam left Steve’s room and probably went to the common area to forget the trauma. Steve gaped at the door for a few seconds before looking at Bucky with a reprimanding look. It was his signature Captain America face.

“I’m going to have a word with you after this!” Steve said seriously which only made Bucky grin mischievously.

* * *

Sam Wilson was Captain Steve Rogers’ wingman; metaphorical and literal sense included. Sam originally belonged to the pararescue of the US army until he settled down in a quiet little place in DC. Being part of pararescue meant that he had large wings attached to his back. They were the color of a barn owl, as Steve so fondly called it. Sam just really didn’t want to be compared to a fluff ball which flies through sheer spite and anger. He was a falcon, thank you very much.

As it is, Sam went through a whole lot of hell that a person shouldn’t even see. Rescues can be messy and wars were never a pretty picture to paint. But holy hell, would Sam want to dive back into that mess rather than witness his best friend get down and dirty right in front of him.

He’s going to need some powerful bleach to erase that.

“Sam,” Steve called tiredly from across the hall. He wore a different pair of pants now, dark colored jeans with a leather belt around it. Of course, there was this mass of muscled man following Steve around, eyes darting at every possible ingress and egress. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out who the mystery man was. James Buchanan Barnes’ file has been recovered and studied thoroughly by the Avengers (an unfortunate name of Steve’s team that stuck after everyone got drunk), and it didn’t take long for them to figure out that the shifter is an important part of Steve’s life. Sam was sympathetic until he saw that show going on in the kitchen.

“Are you finally done getting your brain sucked out from your dick?” Sam snorted as he slouched on the too big couch, “because I ain’t gonna stick around for the aftermath. That’s usually when the party _really_ gets started.”

Steve rolled his eyes and gathered Sam in his arms. His wingman was going to be the death of him but ironically enough, Wilson had saved his ass more times than he can count. Maybe this is what having a sibling feels like.

Before Steve could release Sam from the hug, Bucky hissed and snarled at the winged man. He barred his teeth and crouched on top of the highest perch he could find. The message was clear: _Do not fucking touch Steve or I’ll kill you_.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you too,” Sam sassed with a raised brow and patted Steve away. Bucky answered with an impolite snort as he slithered down from his perch and crawled to where Steve sat. Sam watched the interaction with interest until the brunet stalked him and swiped Wilson away.

“What the hell—“ Sam complained, wings flapping desperately to get him away from the giant hissing cat-man.

With a pleased grin, Bucky stole the plush pillows behind the place where Sam sat. He took them with his teeth and padded away to Steve, effectively covering the man like Bucky was trying so hard to build a nest around him.

“I’m offended, Steve,” Sam wheezed with a laugh, “You didn’t tell me you were married.”

“I’m not married!” Steve flushed as Bucky pointedly ignored what he thought was an overgrown talking bird and rubbed at Steve with a grin. Sam laughed harder at the scene, a well-respected Captain America getting heavily scented by a mystery brunet shifter. The newspapers would bust a nut for that headline.

“Yeah, sure, married or mated,” Sam waved, “same shit.”

Steve sighed and hesitantly pushed Bucky away. The brunet had the decency to whine lowly and make Steve feel guilty for not accepting his love. This is why Steve Rogers could never have a dog. He would spoil the poor mutt like a pro.

“Why are you even here, Sam?”

“Oh, so what, I can’t check in on you after the damn building’s security just blared alarms like a banshee?” Sam snorted incredulously, “Stark almost suited up to bust your ass out of here until Nat told him to back off; told the guy that it was only your long-term booty call comin’ in.”

Steve groaned, his shoulders slumping at the pure embarrassment and incoming headache he was going to get from Tony. If Steve’s lucky enough, Pepper could save him from a lifetime of ribbing but Steve’s not really the luckiest man on earth. He’s just really hoping he can still face his team on the field without looking like an overripe tomato.

“Bucky’s not my— you know, _that_ —“ Steve finished unhelpfully.

“Yeah,” Sam sarcastically agreed as he eyed Bucky practically showering Steve with his own scent, “Sure, Steve. Whatever you say.”

“If you’re going to get smart with me, then might as well grab me some coffee,” Steve fake-pouted at Sam while trying so hard not to melt at Bucky’s ministrations.

Sam raised his palms up in mock-surrender, “Hey, man. Don’t get cranky with me. I thought getting laid was supposed to get you an afterglow. But since my magnanimous self can’t resist being generous, I’ll get you two cups.”

“Life saver,” Steve breathed when suddenly the vent opened and prompted Bucky to snarl again.

“Oh, hey!” Clint greeted upside down, “I heard free coffee. Can I get a pizza with that too?”

“It’s friggin’ 6:15 am, Barton,” Sam laughed as he made his way to Steve’s room. Another thing that Bucky wasn’t happy about but he couldn’t exactly separate from Steve himself.

“Pizza time is anytime, Wilson,” Clint grinned and landed on the floor with practiced ease. “Hey, man. I heard about your old friend. Sorry ‘bout popping in. I think JARVIS wanted to kick my ass for crawling into the vents to go after our resident shifter.”

“I certainly would not cause you any harm, sir,” JARVIS answered, almost sounding offended at the implication, “Though, I would have appreciated if you had made good on your promise to stand down and wait at the lobby.”

Clint grinned ruefully before trying to greet Steve with a hug, which he learned quickly not to do since it was Bucky’s sharp fangs he almost touched. The shifter squinted at Clint to back off which the other man obediently followed. It seemed that the bow and arrows attached to his back made Bucky even angrier.

“Dude, I won’t steal your man,” Clint teased, “I already got a sweet lady of my own and I was never into Teens’ Top Dream Idol of the Year.”

“Oh god, Clint, no.” Steve moaned but Bucky just made a confused sound. He didn’t know what Teens’ Top Dream Idol of the Year meant. Maybe he was talking about Steve? But that’s not Steve’s name. The shifter became more upset at the confusion.

“Hey!” Sam called from Steve’s open door, “You didn’t screw on the countertops, did you? ‘Cause I ain’t touchin’ that until you clean up!”

“SAM!” Steve shouted in an embarrassed tone. He wondered if it’s too late to go sink himself in the Arctic again.

* * *

It’s already nine in the morning when Bucky finally settled down and allowed Steve’s two friends to sit closer. The two did nothing but rib each other good-naturedly which made Steve smile softly at the two, injecting his own jokes and stories just to equally embarrass the both of them. Bucky was fascinated by that look so he allowed the two to stay.

Sam was in the middle of retelling what he called _“Cap’s greatest hits”_ when Clint’s phone rang. Bucky jumped at the sound, a low grumbling noise coming off of him as the archer picked up the gadget from his pocket.

“Aw, phone,” Clint frowned as he tapped furiously on the screen. Sam may or may not have been peeking at the message. That actually explains the ugly snort he made.

“Nat’s getting antsy and Tony’s complaining that he’s being barred from his own home,” Clint recited, not looking up from his texting.

“What, the tower has like eighty floors and Tony doesn’t even live on my floor,” Steve countered.

“That’s actually Stark-talk for _‘is he okay or do I have to bust him out?’_ ” Sam explained as he reached over and secretly hid the last slice of pizza from Clint. It didn’t really matter because Clint saw exactly what he did, earning Sam a light kick on the shin.

“Nat said send pics or she’s breaking in,” Clint parroted the text.

Sam snorted disbelievingly and shook his wings, “Yeah, right. Knowing her, she’s probably listening in from the other side of the building.”

“Alright, compress. We’re taking a selfie so she doesn’t barge in here with the army of the undead or whatever.” Clint sighed and scooted over so he and Sam could take the front, while Steve and Bucky awkwardly stared at the screen from the back.

“Jesus, how far do your shoulders go?” Clint complained at the two when he finally took about ten pictures. Sam kept pestering him about not getting the right angle or the picture being too blurry. Clint had the nerve to suggest putting stickers and that’s where Sam drew the line.

“Hey, man. You’re going to update us on your status, right?” Sam asked as he finally shook himself off the couch and eyed the drowsy shifter snuggling close to Steve. The blond smiled softly at Bucky before turning his attention to Sam, “Yeah, I’ll tell you if anything changes. I just get the feeling he’ll be calmer if he stays here with me.”

“Mates tend to do that,” Clint winked before hefting himself up the vent instead of using the elevator like a normal person.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Steve complained, though his stomach felt like there were butterflies inside every damn time he gets lumped in with Bucky in a romantic way. It seems like his childhood infatuation managed to survive the war and the crash well into the 21st century.

Sam shook his head in exasperation, “I swear, Steve. Google. It’s very helpful. If you’re being an old man about it then head to the library and check dragon behavior.”

Steve looked at Sam like he grew two heads but the other just laughed at him before flying out the window. Sam was never a fan of elevators since it made him claustrophobic. His wings would always twitch and thrash. Steve could never blame him. Even he did not like tight spaces.

“Sleep,” Bucky yawned and Steve felt an ‘aww’ trying to escape his mouth. He won’t say it though. Steve doesn’t know how much Bucky remembers but the old Buck from Brooklyn never liked to be called cute except for the dames. It’s not good to trigger the shifter to be irritable at this time.

When Steve finally settled Bucky down on his bed, obviously drowning deep in his sleep and the smell of Steve on the soft covers, the blond bit his lip and considered Sam’s suggestion. Google was helpful to an extent but there were these weird blogs that ranged from Mommy blogs down to illuminati and black market level. Steve’s brow reached his hairline when he scrolled through everything he could get on dragon/dragon shifter behavior. JARVIS helpfully suggested some legitimate websites until Steve finally felt his eyes go dry.

“I’ll never get used to computers,” Steve sighed and stretched his back.

“Captain Rogers, we could make an online request for books from the local library,” JARVIS suggested helpfully, “You’d only need to sign downstairs once the books had been delivered. Ms. Miller from the front desk would be more than happy to assist you in acquiring and returning the books you’ll need.”

“They can do that now?” Steve asked with awe. Back in the day, you had to walk to the library and scour every isle yourself if you wanted a book in hand. Sometimes, you’re unlucky enough that there’s no available copy and you’d have to wait a full week before you can go back and check again.

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS replied, “It’s the most ideal setup so that Sergeant Barnes would not be left unsupervised. I have received the information that solitary confinement tends to make Sergeant Barnes agitated.”

Steve hummed sadly and stared at Bucky’s sleeping form. The shifter hadn’t moved an inch since Steve set him there. Bucky must be so exhausted and strung up that his body is begging him to get every sleep he can get. Steve can only imagine what kind of torture Bucky went through under the hands of HYDRA. Sleep-deprivation can really break a man.

It’s really hard to accept or even think of the things that made Bucky into the man he is. Steve never forgave himself for letting Bucky fall from the train. He knew something was up with his best friend. Bucky couldn’t shift properly ever since his trip from Azzano. If Steve had known that losing proper control of his shifting powers would lead to Bucky’s disappearance, Steve would have fought long and hard for Bucky to stay safe within the sidelines until he got better.

As it is, this is the only thing Steve can help Bucky with.

“Alright, JARVIS. I need books on dragon behavior,” Steve requested the AI with a determined expression.

He didn’t know that the books would actually prompt him to burst into flames but that’s another story to tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //kindly correct me if I have any errors on the Russian part


	3. Healing Both Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one ever said that healing is a "straight" experience.

Steve was about to burst into flames as his eyes read through the multiple texts scattered through his desk. JARVIS wasn’t kidding about getting scholarly materials from the library. There were about ten hardbound books that were sent to the tower and two more were pending since they were borrowed beforehand. It didn’t help that some of the books had illustrations in them. At first, it was a welcome sight and Steve’s inner artist was in total awe, until he saw the rather— intimate details.

“Nat was right,” Steve groaned as he dug the heel of his palm into his eyes. The book he just read on dragon relationships and mating had explicitly detailed how dragons and dragon shifters behave and court each other. Steve felt the back of his neck heat up when he saw that exposing one’s neck is actually a sign of submission and desire to be a dragon’s mate.

It didn’t make any sense. Steve had been doing the same gesture since he and Bucky were still snotty little kids back in Brooklyn. It was instinctual and felt like the right thing to do. Bucky never said anything about it either. The brunet would just grin toothily and snuggle into Steve before heading out to dance halls to meet his date for the night.

A loud clang woke Steve from his reverie, making him swivel from his chair and look across the hall where the sound came from. It was Bucky, of course. He was wearing loose cotton pants that Steve let him borrow but the blue band shirt was missing somewhere near the couch. Bucky was sniffing through the kitchen, seemingly relearning new things or maybe he was out hunting for food. Steve didn’t really know. Bucky still didn’t talk much.

“Hey, Buck!” Steve called out from his study room, “Are you hungry?”

The shifter made a soft grunting sound and rolled his eyes before moving away from the lit up stove. Steve smiled at him, remembering how Bucky had reacted to the fire demon who resided in the common room chimney when Sam and Clint had barged in earlier. Maybe he was trying to figure out if fire demons lived in Steve’s kitchen too.

Steve sighed and closed the book he was reading, no longer interested in making himself blush at his past actions. Bucky is here now and it’s obvious that he needs help with recovering from whatever HYDRA did to him. Hopefully, Tony and the rest of his team could figure out what truly happened to his childhood friend.

“How about watching a movie?” Steve suggested and was happy that Bucky immediately bolted from his perch and snuggled towards the couch. There’s not much Steve could do at this point and he’d rather not think about matters involving courtship.

* * *

It took an impressive three days before Natasha finally barged in. That’s a new record, considering that she always seemed to be _everywhere_ when the team needed her to jump in. It was clear that Natasha wanted to give them space but clearly her patience ran out when Steve stubbornly refused to say anything.

“I can explain,” Steve held up his hands pleadingly while Bucky growled and hissed at the strange lady who stepped through the windows of the 74th floor. Bucky really did not like that.

Natasha quirked a brow, “Oh, you’d better, Rogers.” She bowed her head slightly and sat on the floor just near the television that was playing some ghibli animated movie. It was a deliberate show to the shifter that the red head was not trying to dominate either males. Sitting on the floor, way below where Bucky was perched on the couch, meant she wanted no trouble. Bucky snorted but was somewhat placated.

 “I just... really have my hands full right now. I already told JARVIS to alert all of you,” Steve explained, while Bucky grumbled warily at his side.

“I know, but we actually need you in person,” Natasha explained and leaned backwards, “We finally cracked the old HYDRA database where your _friend_ was found. Fury is considering getting Barnes a professional psychiatrist to help him recover from his mental trauma.”

“They’re taking him away?” Steve stiffened and eyed Natasha. The blood user smiled softly and shook her head at the blond.

“I already told them that Barnes is very attached to you. It would be a mistake to suddenly rip you away at this point in time. He’d be more traumatized by that— or he’d probably kill his therapist and then kidnap you to some faraway castle.”

Steve snorted, “That sounds like an awful fairytale.”

“Oh believe me, you’re already living it right now,” Natasha grinned wolfishly, “You just don’t know it yet.”

Steve made a confused pout. Natasha had always been a cryptic type of person, keeping to herself most often than not and making sure no secret leaked out. Sometimes she deliberately makes people uncomfortable by making them aware that they’re actually clueless. Steve thinks this might be Natasha’s weird way of showing her playful side.

“When will Bucky meet the psychiatrist though?” Steve asked, side-stepping Natasha’s ribbing, “SHIELD can’t just drop one on him, right? I’ll feel better if I can talk him through it.”

Natasha made a waving movement, “Fury’s considered giving you two some honeymoon period so that Barnes could ground himself a bit. You know how dragon shifters are; being territorial and all. We thought it’d be a good idea if he can get familiar with a stable home.”

“Home being my floor in the tower,” Steve stated. It really wasn’t a question. They wanted Bucky to build his own nest in a stable environment and that means being grounded in Steve’s room.

“Yup,” Natasha responded with a pop, her eyes gleaming with something akin to mischief.

“Nat—“ Steve sighed and scrubbed his face tiredly.

“Anyway!” Natasha announced and stood up from her seat, dusting some imaginary dirt from her pants. Bucky eyed her with a bit of confused interest, scrunching up his nose as he tried to get a better whiff of her scent. “I gotta run. Someone’s spending their sweet time with their ‘my not boyfriend’ so Sam and I are taking on witch covens like crazy.”

Steve winced at the thought. He completely forgot that it had been a while since Steve had been on active duty. Bucky had completely taken his time and attention that everything else just turned into a blur. Cleanup missions on witches were never pretty. He’s pretty sure Sam and Natasha would make him the official ghoul bait for the next three months. Steve’s skin crawled at the thought of stinking like ghoul slobber that doesn’t wash out.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Steve grimaced and put on an awkward smile, “I’m actually surprised no one’s interrogating us right now. Half the time, I was expecting that Fury might send someone in here. I guess I have to thank you for that.”

Natasha grinned, “Only two gallons of milktea can save you from my wrath, Rogers. Fury will be meeting you in two hours. You know where to go, don’t you?”

Steve stiffly nodded. Fury either wanted to meet in his office or in one of the time warped meeting rooms. It was basically a long hallway with a series of standard grey colored doors but each one led to a different man-made reality. Dr. Stephen Strange had created each one specifically to cater to the needs of whoever would use it. By the looks of it, Steve will probably see Dr. Strange today. Fury would have made it very clear if he wanted to meet at his office.

“Thanks, Nat. I owe you and Sam.”

Natasha gave him a mock salute before disappearing. Bucky made a scoffing sound, thinking that the woman was probably showing off. Steve laughed softly because he’s definitely right.

* * *

SHIELD had fondly called the hallway dotted with different doors as the ‘Warp Zone.’ The place was cold and little intimidating due to the constant humming of powerful magic beating down on the heavily charmed doors. It didn’t help that each held different realities, and some of which had something screaming or growling inside. Most employees would either be fascinated or downright terrified. It was only Dr. Strange who didn’t express much emotion over them.

“Captain Rogers,” Strange greeted as he padded down the hallways with his squeaky converse. He wore a loose grey hoodie and black jogging pants. Steve raised a brow at the outfit while Bucky just stared at the odd man.

“Nice to see you again, Doctor,” Steve greeted and shook the other’s hand, “New outfit?”

Dr. Strange shrugged nonchalantly, “Another time warping teenager manifested downtown. He kept jumping into World War II and it scared the crap out of him. I’m supposed to contain him today.”

“That can’t be a good experience,” Steve commented with his lips thinning into a perfect line. The war still left him with a bitter taste at the back of his throat. He can’t imagine how much fear and panic the kid had suffered if he kept getting sucked into that time without his control. Bucky seemed to detect the stiffness of Steve muscles and immediately rumbled a comforting sound. Steve smiled gratefully.

“Well, anyway, better meet Fury now,” Strange sighed and hovered a hand over a door, “He’s been enjoying the coffee and the ladies too much. Get him out of there before he decides to permanently stay in my altered reality.”

“Will do,” Steve laughed and watched as golden runes crawled up from the doorknob and glowed. There was a crackling and searing sound before the runes disappeared and Dr. Strange finally opened the portal.

For a moment, Steve felt like he understood what that time warping kid felt like. The soft sound of muted jazz floated in the air. The room had a strange sepia tone but everything was vividly clear. It was obvious that this was a cross between a pub and a dancehall. Waitresses buzzed in from every direction, their hairs pinned up perfectly in curls just like Peggy used to wear. Some of the blondes smiled and winked at Steve with their painted rouge lips. It felt like walking into a dream.

“Steve,” Bucky croaked. The brunet was looking around in vague awe like he was trying to remember if he saw this place before. Steve’s heart thundered in his chest as he watched Bucky walk around in one of Steve’s Henley shirt and dark washed jeans. If he gave Bucky back his dog tags and cut the long curtain of hair, then he’d look like he was dragged straight out of the warzone.

“If you’re done with the moon eyes,” Fury muttered as he drank what looked like his fourth cup of coffee. He was seated on one of those high stools that Steve used to hate before he was jacked up by the serum.

Steve obediently made a beeline for Fury, with Bucky following him around like a determined guard dog. Each one grabbed a stool and Bucky strategically placed himself near Steve to get him out in case something goes wrong. Fury eyed the interaction and snorted.

“Isn’t this a little too dramatic?” Steve inquired stiffly as he ordered beer from the friendly looking bartender. He really didn’t know the consequences of drinking in an altered reality but Fury seems to be okay with his growing battalion of coffee cups.

“I was always a sentimental man, Rogers,” Fury answered, “Also it’d be familiar to Barnes. Don’t want him to burn down SHIELD just because he got too jumpy.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Steve assured the other but Fury merely looked at him dubiously. Well, Fury did have a point. Bucky had been responsible for the destruction of the entire half of a mile wide HYDRA base. He could definitely torch everything and everyone if he wanted to.

Fury didn’t look like he was in the mood for a long talk after that. He simply knocked on the wooden counter three times before a folder materialized out of nowhere. It was a shortened compilation of what HYDRA did to one James Buchanan Barnes. Steve hesitantly took the folder and opened it, feeling his gut drop to the floor when he saw Bucky’s old military picture next to a photo of his older self in a cryo chamber.

Some of the papers were turning yellow at the edges while others smelled like fresh ink. The contents were about highly technical procedures but it didn’t take a genius to know what ‘memory wipe’ and ‘behavior alteration’ meant. Steve tried his best not to let his mood show but his hands shook violently when he turned to a particular page with HYDRA agents sticking their hands into his best friend’s guts.

“Power manipulation,” Fury stated and he looked slightly upset as well, “That’s what HYDRA wanted to mess with. That explains why a fire creature like Barnes is able to create ice on his own. His metal arm seems to be regulating his temperature when he shifts elements but it will definitely hurt like one hell of a motherfucker.”

“Is there anything we can do about his arm?” Steve asked in his Captain tone. It was easier to shift in a strategic state of mind than lose himself in the spiral of emotions. “Natasha also mentioned you wanted him to see a professional psychiatrist.”

Fury made an affirming sound, “We’re planning to get him straightened up as soon as we can but it has been apparent that Sergeant Barnes is more stable when he’s around someone he’s familiar with, aka. Steve Rogers. We need your help to ease him in.”

“I’ll do it,” Steve declared, making Bucky whine an inquisitive noise.

“We know, Cap,” Fury smirked and made a move to slide off the stool. The older man directed Steve into the step-by-step that SHIELD was going to follow through with Barnes. It was slightly different from standard procedure, considering they have never handled a case with complete memory wipe. They had to figure out if it was done through scientific methods, through magic, or both. Steve listened attentively like it was a mission. Somehow this felt a lot like walking straight into Azanno again.

Bucky sat through the whole thing without a word. It didn’t look like he was listening to anything that was being said but Steve knew well enough not to assume that. Bucky, as stated in the files, is a trained killer and has perfected keeping his emotions in line. It would be stupid of him not to listen to vital information when it was being handed down on a silver platter. So the shifter remained still as his cold grey blue eyes bore into the swirling grains of the wooden floor.

After the meeting with Fury, Steve was completely exhausted. He collapsed gracelessly on the couch of his own room and scrubbed at his face angrily. He still felt the hot flames of righteous indignation after reading the whole file on HYDRA. Bucky merely cooed and plastered himself to Steve.

They remained that way for the entire night.

* * *

Steve knew from personal experience that therapy can be a bitch.

From the moment the blond woke up, he had been bombarded with lots of psychiatrists to assess his mental health. Sometimes it got too much to the point that he ran through a wall just to find himself lost in the middle of twentieth century New York, with achy bare feet and lost blue eyes.

Seeing the same thing on Bucky was a little different though. Ever since the shifter started seeing his therapists, his eyes would always be red and shoulders slumped forward. It was a bit of an improvement from the first few times. Dr. Strange had not been happy to return to one of the warped rooms sporting a huge charred hole into it.

“All good,” Wanda smiled softly as she puttered behind an exhausted Bucky. She was terribly too young, in Steve’s opinion, but the witch is good at mind reading and manipulation. Her fiery red hair bounced around her shoulders as she tiptoed to give Steve a big hug. She was always the Avengers’ little girl, that’s why it was rather hard for Steve to see her sort through the not-so-pleasant HYDRA memories of his best friend.

“You’re good as well?” Steve smiled and Wanda nodded cheerily.

“Bucky has been a good sport this time,” Wanda grinned and Bucky made a chortled sound from the side.

“That girl is a menace to society,” Bucky rumbled but there was a barely concealed smirk on his face. He’d been talking now that Wanda was assigned to him. It was probably because Bucky had been sick and tired of hearing Wanda’s voice annoying him to talk all the time. Peter Parker wasn’t any help when he came in as well. The boy had gotten lost one day and accidentally walked in to where Bucky’s therapy was being conducted. It was safe to say he never really detached himself after seeing the shifter’s metal arm.

Steve smiled and hugged Bucky sideways, “It’s a good thing she’s on our side then, pal.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at the blond while Wanda bit her lips to hold back a smirk. She was always the happiest when the two old men from back in time were together. Steve never really understood why but Bucky seemed to flush a bit at the attention.

“I definitely ship it,” Wanda smiled toothily, “Peter totally has a point.”

“What’s ship—“

“Come on, Steve!” Bucky yelped hastily and dragged Steve away. Wanda laughed loudly at the two before disappearing into one of the rooms. Bucky kept muttering all the way to Steve’s floor.

* * *

“I think it’s dumb,” Wanda declared as she crossed her legs on her own bed, socked foot wiggling to get some heat back into it. She was currently off duty as the magic-based assistant of Bucky’s psychiatrist but it didn’t stop her from spending time with the older man. Bucky was still wary of other people so Wanda made it a point to try to help him out in this area. Peter agreed, of course. That’s why he’s with them in the room, fiddling with an old PSP that’s probably as much as a relic as Steve.

“What’s dumb?” Bucky muttered after plastering the right side of his face against the cool marble countertop. He might have keened a bit in approval but he wasn’t going to admit that.

The young witch rolled her eyes and huffed a breath, “Not telling Steve the _thing_. It’s obviously messing with your head. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to clarify if you’re courting or mate—“

“No!” Bucky growled with a displeased frown, “Hell, I already did some pretty fucked up things in my overextended lifetime. I don’t want _‘scaring off my best guy’_ to be added on the list.”

“But what if you _are_ mates!” Peter interjected but his eyes were still focused on the tiny screen. He was currently slouched on a bean bag like he owns it.

“Shut up,” Bucky groaned, “I had enough of you and your ships. Wanda almost outed me to Steve because of your crap.”

Peter rose up from his seat a little and made a pouty face, “Hey, man. Don’t invalidate another person’s ship. Besides, it’s not only you and Cap. Some people ship Mr. Stark with Dr. Strange.”

The shifter laughed disbelievingly, “How the fuck did that happen?”

“Facial hair bros,” Peter grinned, “also Dr. Strange kinda saved me and Mr. Stark when we were trapped in a time slip in Uganda. He swore that he’d leave our sorry asses once we become a liability but uh, Dr. Strange risked his life and even his powers to get us out. It took _months_ before Dr. Strange was able to use his hands again.”

Bucky whistled in awe while Wanda nodded along, no doubt already well-versed in the story.

“You know, Cap and Mr. Stark are also—“

“Ah!” Wanda yelped and made a weird face at Peter.

 _“Nevermind!”_ Peter squawked rapidly with his hands raised.

“Oh?” Bucky raised a brow, “What’s this about Steve and Stark?”

If looks could kill, Wanda probably already murdered Peter six ways to Sunday. As an assistant, Wanda was well aware of how protective and possessive Bucky Barnes could be. Mainly, it’s also because Bucky’s dragon side is obsessed with treasure, and it chose Steve to be its most important. No one else knows about this, of course.

“Hey don’t worry about it!” Peter pleaded and babbled uncontrollably, “I totally ship Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts! They’re getting married actually— or mated! Ms. Pepper Potts is an elf, you know? Like Lord of the Rings elf, not the tiny ones— that’s why Mr. Stark hates it when she wears heels because he looks like a dwarf and—“

Bucky didn’t even blink. He just stared at the kid with icy blue-grey eyes.

“You won’t kill him, right?” Peter winced, “Killing is not cool, man.”

“I won’t,” Bucky said slowly and he raised his chin up. It was the kind of bravado that echoed his old self. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the watch list.”

“Aw, come on. Mr. Stark’s going to throttle me.”

Wanda was about to interject when a soft knock startled them.

“Nobody shoot curses, it’s just me.” Natasha said from the other side of the door. They didn’t know how she managed to put a smirk in that sentence but she did.

Wanda moved off of her bed and reached for the door, even though she can clearly just open it with her own magic. She had a tendency to have a liking for doing things without the aid of her powers. A lot of people didn’t know how to react to that.

“Oh, are you guys having a slumber party without me?” Natasha smiled as she sauntered in. Peter immediately looked up, his huge black spider eyes taking in the form of Natasha with awe. He had a little crush, probably. Natasha’s blood magic was closely tied with traditional arachnid magic. She was formerly called the Black Widow after all.

“Hey, Miss Romanoff!” Peter squawked and waved awkwardly. Natasha thought it was cute and ruffled the kid’s hair. She was answered with an embarrassed and excited chitter.

Bucky made a soft greeting at the back of his throat. Natasha merely nodded and made her way to Wanda’s computer. It was a little strange. The dragon shifter could remember bits and pieces of Natasha, and he was pretty sure at one point he thought she was hot but now he just didn’t seem as interested. It’s like every time he thought she was gorgeous, his brain would supply him with a _‘well, she doesn’t have Steve’s sinful pecs’_. That was usually a one-way trip to gay thoughts town, population: Bucky Barnes.

“Are you trying to buy off that game again?” Wanda chuckled and tried to look at the screen, “It’s not even going to be released for months! You’ll never get it this early.”

Natasha grinned and dropped her voice as she typed away, “You underestimate my power.”

“Oh wow, I’m in love.” Peter swooned as he sunk into the bean bag even more. Bucky made a gagging sound and threw a discarded paper bag at his face. The kid didn’t seem to care and just let it plaster to his skin with a dreamy sigh.

“I thought they said that the prequels were shitty,” Wanda smirked.

“We are not arguing about this again,” Bucky whined, “Don’t trash talk the damn movies if you don’t want Steve to come barging in here about _‘being respectful of other people’s hard work’_ ”

“Oh, he said that?” Natasha chuckled and kept on typing, “He probably just doesn’t want to admit that he’s soft for Padmé and Anakin. Something about— _star- crossed lovers_.”

Bucky frowned and moved up from the countertop. Was Steve still a little sore about his failed relationship with Peggy? It made sense since everyone was so sure about Steve and Peggy’s romantic interest with each other to the point that it’s probably as popularized as any romantic fairytale. Somehow the shifter’s gut instincts were telling him he should be angry. Steve was _his_ first. Or was he really?

The jumble of memories in Bucky’s head was of no help. When the shifter first woke up and remembered some part of Steve, he was so sure that the blond was his mate. It was natural really, his first instinctive reaction at seeing Steve was to protect, provide, and please. It wasn’t until Wanda’s intervention that Bucky started to doubt his feral drive. He never had the balls to ask Steve point blank.

“The look of constipated thinking does not suit your pretty face, Barnes.” Natasha chided before making a successful sound and conjuring a usb out of nowhere.

Bucky snorted a small puff of smoke and looked away.

“How is that even possible,” Wanda stared disbelievingly as the huge file of the computer game started transferring to Natasha’s usb, “Is this part of being a trained assassin? Do you even need my computer with this?”

Natasha shrugged and sat on the nearest chair, “I know you did something to your computer to make it untraceable. Also, Clint accidentally knocked off my laptop when he stabbed his leg with an arrow, so I really need to borrow yours before I turn Barton into a toad.”

“He stabbed himself with an arrow?” Bucky squinted in confusion.

Natasha grinned playfully, “Not the oddest thing to happen to him, I promise.”

Bucky wrinkled his nose at the oddity and slumped against the countertop again. The mention of Steve’s possible pining made him a little moody and unsocial all of a sudden. It was pathetic, really. Bucky had been making heart eyes at Steve since pre-war but he never seemed to get anywhere. Not even the scenting and providing a nest after Sarah Rogers died had gotten a clear ‘yes’ from Steve. Sure, he’d expose his neck but the blond never did anything beyond that. It was the most confusing and frustrating thing to ever give Bucky some serious blue balls.

“Alright, all done.” Natasha announced when the notification sound rang. Wanda was trying to bargain with the other red head to just leave the file in her computer. Peter may or may not have tried to make puppy eyes at Natasha too. It was all just background noise that Bucky chose to ignore. The three bickered good naturedly until Sam’s voice cackled into life in the comms. Natasha paused and listened in before nodding.

The blood user’s dark eyes tracked Bucky warily. There was something she wanted to say, obviously. Bucky could already feel the hesitance and worry seeping through her veins. It’s an ability he honed when he was still the asset.

“You can say what you have to say,” Bucky groused, his eyes closed.

“We’ve been called in,” Natasha started, “and Steve needs to lead the team.”

* * *

Steve hated it when Bucky was upset. It was like whatever negative emotions the shifter felt, Steve would suffer through it twice than the original owner. That’s why, right now, Steve tried so hard to block out the image of his friend sitting sullenly on Steve’s bed. Bucky looked both parts angry and sad; arms crossed and a right leg bouncing up and down on the carpeted floor.

“Buck,” Steve sighed as he strapped on his gear.

The brunet made a growling sound and glared at Steve’s uniform like it was offending him.

“I don’t want to leave you when you’re like this,” Steve sighed again and smoothed down his hair. It was a little longer than how he usually sported it.

Bucky gave him a withering look, “Then don’t fucking leave, punk.” Yeah, well. This is probably not one of the dragon shifter’s proudest moments. It sounded whiny and annoying in his own ears but he couldn’t help the crawling panic seeping through his limbs. After HYDRA fucked him up good, Bucky had been heavily dependent on his feral instincts to help him survive. He was an animal for most of almost seventy years. It was a hard habit to unlearn. His dragon side wanted—no, needed— Steve to be at his side. Bucky’s logical side, however, knew that people needed Steve to save them.

The blond smiled softly and kneeled in front of the brunet, “Hey.  I’m comin’ home, jerk.”

“The last time I let you out of my sight, you got so jacked up that your muscles kept ripping through standard men’s shirts,” Bucky glared at him accusingly.

Steve laughed at the answer, “Well, I gotta go fight the bad guys. That ain’t changing now.”

“Just...” Bucky frowned and looked like he was about to grab Steve, “Don’t take all the stupid with you.”

“No, sir.” Steve smiled.

Bucky pressed his lips in a thin line. He felt his muscles shaking at the effort of trying to tap down the beast he had inside. Steve was not his mate. From the beginning of their friendship, Bucky knew to never control Steve or tell the man what to do. But somehow, somewhere in his heart, Bucky wanted so bad to control the circumstances around him. He can’t, of course. He’s gotta let his Stevie go. Steve’s happiness always comes first.

“You get your ass back here, Rogers,” Bucky commanded with a phantom dragon growl under his breath, “You still need to explain your gay moments with Stark to me.”

Steve choked on his own spit before Sam not so subtly shouted at him to get moving. There was a strange smirk on Bucky’s face; a sort of challenging and yet flirty look. It was all the motivation Steve needed to race out of his floor to meet the rest of his team. God, Bucky was right. Steve really had some gay moments but it wasn’t exactly with Stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh... it took me a while since school started. It's so difficult to squeeze this in with our busy schedule.
> 
> Sorry if there are any mistakes! I'll clean this up soon.  
> Thank you for the 100 kudos! Y'all are awesome!


	4. It's Getting Hot In Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there might be a scene that falls under dubcon. I'm not sure if it's actually dubcon per se but I'm putting it out here just to be on the safe side! (also some not so detailed sexual content ahead so look out)
> 
> Also please take note of the additional tags! Thanks!

Bucky absolutely sucked at staying in one place.

Ever since Steve had been called in for a mission, Bucky had paced and crawled through every available surface of Steve’s apartment and then some. Sometimes, the shifter would sneak out to the common room and try to amuse himself but he ended up being pissed off by the resident sassy fire demon who called Bucky a ‘halfie’. The two of them were sons of fire but apparently the fire demon could sense that Bucky was half an ice user as well. If anyone noticed a big puddle of water on the chimney, no one really reprimanded him for it.

“Fuuuck!” Bucky whined and growled for the nth time that day. Nothing was ever interesting when Steve wasn’t around. Heck, nobody was around.

“Is there anything you might require, Sergeant Barnes?” VISION stated primly, obviously sensing that the captain’s roommate wasn’t in a pleasant mood.

“S’fine.” Bucky grouched and wriggled his nose like a dog would, “I’m just bored to death and my arm fucking hurts.”

“Should I call the healers, sir?”

The shifter shook his head and proceeded to bury himself in the mound of stacked pillows he strategically placed on Steve’s bed. It was a nest that made him feel safe but the lizard part of Bucky’s brain knew it was a signal to anyone that he’s about ready to mate. It was frustrating as hell since it acted like a giant neon sign to Steve that he wanted to fuck, and that just sounded too desperate even for a hundred year old man.

“Sir, there’s an incoming call from Mr. Stark,” JARVIS alerted Bucky before promptly sidestepping and allowing the call to come through. Bucky snarled at the name but he allowed the other man to speak.

“Hey, Robocop! Just checking in,” Stark’s confident voice flooded Steve’s bedroom. Bucky’s possessive side didn’t want it there but he had no choice in the matter.

“Go away.” Bucky warned.

“Oh wow, rude. That’s not how you should treat your landlord, you know?” Stark replied and there were sounds of metal and scuffling in the background, “Well, not really landlord since I don’t require any rent. Generous of me, of course. Anyway! Jarvs told me about the whole arm thing shebang going on.”

Bucky hissed and barred his fangs at the ceiling even if he knew Stark wasn’t watching. He didn’t like this man and he also didn’t like that this Stark was ever connected to Steve in a romantic way, confirmed or not. Plus the fact that the arm was a sensitive subject for Bucky; he really did not want to talk about it.

“Look, Buckster.” Stark sighed and dropped whatever metal thing he was holding, “I won’t force you into anything but all I wanted was to check out the metal arm, which is fascinating by the way, and make sure it won’t rip your spine out.”

“Why do you care?” Bucky practically spat at him.

“Uh, because I just called in with the team hours ago and practically eighty percent of our conversation consisted with Cap asking me for advice regarding your arm,” Stark answered easily and Bucky could imagine the other man crossing his arms defiantly. “Also, for more selfish purposes, I really want to see old tech and magic come into play. Your choice, Bucko.”

There was a long moment of silence. Bucky still had an angry frown on his face as he clutched a fluffed pillow to his chest. Stark remained silent as well before he made an exaggerated sigh and stretched his back.

“I’ll even throw in a skype deal for you. You can talk to Steve while I diagnose your arm.”

* * *

Bucky hated himself for being so easily persuaded. Just the idea of Steve dangled right in front of him would be enough motivation to do anything. Well, not anything but most people got the idea. Now, he’s standing right in front of glass doors that apparently led straight to Stark’s workshop. Bucky felt a little underdressed as he was surrounded by expensive looking machineries. The shifter wore another one of Steve’s Henley shirts underneath a soft hoodie. The jeans he wore were also Steve’s but had never been used due to tight schedules.

The lack of SHIELD agents tracking his every move also made Bucky feel a little odd.

“Come right in!” Stark yelled from the far side of his workshop, buzzing sounds of electricity echoing through the huge room. The glass doors swished open and Bucky let himself inside, allowing his sneakers to pad through the cement floor without a sound.

“Sit anywhere you want just don’t step on Dum-e, he’s a little sensitive.” Stark called out without looking at his new visitor. He wore odd looking glasses that lighted up with numbers and figures that Bucky couldn’t quite catch. The shifter sniffed and softly sat on a stool while a robot waved at him in a friendly manner. He could only assume this was Dum-e.

After a few moments, the inventor made a triumphant sound and shut down whatever it was he was doing before Bucky came in. The engine whirred softly until the humming turned into silence. Bucky pressed his lips thinly and felt the plates of his metal arm flex in response to his anxiety.

Stark was shorter than Bucky but he had lines across his face that made him look a little older. He had a weird goatee that Bucky thought made him look like a douche. The man wore a simple black tank top and form fitting sweatpants together with well-worn running shoes that looked more expensive than Bucky’s entire being. Stark had a bit of muscle in him but Bucky didn’t seem impressed. The other was clearly not a good enough mate for Steve.

“No need to be so nervous, Bucko. I actually practice non-invasive checkups here, unlike our barbaric little SHIELD. Also, consent.” Stark smiled cockily and pushed his wheeled chair towards Bucky’s general direction. “You can bet your ass we won’t go into any fifty shades shit so let’s get this party started.”

“What’s that?” Bucky squinted like a confused puppy. Stark gaped at him for a bit before realizing what the shifter didn’t understand.

“You haven’t seen fifty shades?” Stark raised a brow, “Whips and controversial issues about BDSM?”

Bucky seemed more confused as ever and it prompted Stark to laugh delightedly. The inventor seemed pleased and suggested that Bucky watch it with Steve in the comfort of their apartment. He may or may not have insinuated that he’ll want a detailed account of the hundred-year-old virgin Rogers.

The dragon shifter rolled his eyes and allowed Stark to manoeuvre the metal arm to a detachable table. Stark wheeled back a bit to scramble for a tiny screw driver. Bucky looked at him accusingly but man with the weird facial hair merely waved it and said it wasn’t really for poking purposes.

“I was promised Steve.” Bucky reminded the other brunet who already looked so engrossed at Bucky’s arm. Stark hummed before tapping his chin then pulled out a secondary keyboard shelf and tapped into it with efficient speed. The monitor quickly lit up and showed a long list of contacts before the application started calling a particular number.

Stark moved away from the computer and readied himself for examining Bucky’s arm again, “Don’t say I don’t follow with my promises.”

The application made a ringing noise projected by the several speakers of the workshop. Bucky didn’t even notice that Stark was already pulling out holograms across the air that were programmed to scan through the shifter’s arm. The anticipation of finally hearing Steve’s voice just proved to be too powerful to refuse. Bucky’s not an idiot though. He did keep watch of what Stark was up to from the corner of his vision.

“What is it now, Tony?” grumbled Steve’s tired voice while the monitor expanded and showed the blond’s tired and battered face. Steve looked like he needed a week of sleep but Bucky didn’t care. He was so happy to see him again that he made a chirrup without meaning to.

“Buck?” Steve gasped disbelievingly and sat up straight. Bucky grinned wide at the other and softly called him a punk for leaving him alone for too long.

“That’s disgustingly sweet,” Stark muttered distractedly and fiddled with the scanners. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Tony,” Steve frowned and said brunet already knew that an old-fashioned reprimanding is coming his way. “Why is Bucky in your workshop? He’s not even supposed to be walking around the tower without supervision.”

“Uh, hello,” Stark rolled his eyes and pointed at himself, “Iron Man? Why does everybody keep on forgetting that?”

“It’s the only thing that kept us sane,” answered Natasha’s voice as she bent down to say hello to the two brunets. Bucky blinked and nodded at her, clearly not as wary of the woman as he was before.

“Tony, please, just don’t do anything—“ Steve pleaded but was immediately cut-off by an incoming call. The blond was startled for a while until the clearly unimpressed face of Pepper Potts came into view. Stark cursed under his breath as his screw driver flew over his head and rattled at the far-side of the workshop.

The lady that appeared had strawberry blonde hair with light blonde highlights. Her skin was a bit pale and had splashes of freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. The slightly pointy ear confirmed that she was indeed of elven descent.

“Honey,” Pepper Potts sighed tiredly, “What on earth are you doing? I was looking for you and JARVIS had to tell me what you were up to. I swear, I leave you for five minutes and you get yourself in trouble.”

“Pep—“ Stark raised his palms but the tough lady clearly wasn’t finished.

“I’m so sorry, Sergeant Barnes.” Pepper genuinely apologized and Bucky was taken aback slightly because he couldn’t remember a time when someone said sorry to him like that. “My intended is a bit of a troublemaker. He didn’t force you into this, did he?”

“No. He just promised that I could talk to Steve.” Bucky answered honestly and Stark made a disbelieving sound behind him.

Pepper made a cooing noise while the other screen showed Steve’s flushed face. Natasha looked like she was trying to hold her smile while a chorus of voices that sounded like Sam and Clint were making lewd noises in the background of the quinjet.

“I completely forgot that Sergeant Barnes isn’t allowed to have a communication device of his own.” Pepper frowned and looked like a genuinely worried mother.

“He’s not?” Steve gaped. “What’s going on?”

“SHIELD orders, Cap.” Stark answered, “Fury doesn’t trust our resident Manchurian candidate that he won’t contact any HYDRA operatives. Honestly, what I’m doing here is a service to our veterans. I’m already going against SHIELD protocol to reunite Barnes and Noble.”

“That’s very nice of you, sweetie.” Pepper teased Stark. She clearly could see through her intended’s actions. Steve and Tony had a little bit of a falling out last week and this must be his form of apology. The inventor may also have felt a little sorry for the shifter. Stark knew what it felt like to be caged in a place where you couldn’t reach your loved ones.

“Also a reason why you won’t scold me, right?” Stark sweet talked his intended which made her shake her head. Pepper did let him get away with it somehow. The woman was swamped with work and couldn’t bother herself to try and get Barnes back to Steve’s apartment if it was giving the shifter an opportunity to talk to Steve. Pepper bid everyone a goodbye and firmly ordered the rest of the Avengers to come home safe.

“What a dame.” Bucky observed as Stark sagged in relief beside him.

Stark was about to retort something smart when the scanners made beeping sounds. The inventor’s attention quickly shifted to the changing charts and figures. Bucky ignored him and used his available time to catch up with what Steve has been doing. The two could have been talking for hours; occasionally, stopping when Stark found a way to open a latch and exposed the inner mechanism of Bucky’s arm. The shifter stilled but Stark made him feel comfortable again after showing a neat trick that sent his tools flying five feet in the air.

“It’s like a magical firewall to protect the arm!” Stark exclaimed as he studied the runes that protected the inner wirings of the arm. Bucky snorted and ignored the open weapon. He saw that a million times and even if his memory wasn’t fully back yet, he was already well-versed with his own arm.

“You’re doing really well, Buck.” Steve praised the shifter which caused Bucky to flush red. The scanners made beeping sounds again but Stark turned it off before Steve started panicking again.

“Relax, grandpa.” Stark muttered and adjusted a loose plate and screw, “I got this.”

Steve groaned tiredly before relenting. Their mission still wasn’t done but the trio hoped dearly that they can finally go home soon. Bucky shared the same sentiment and opened up that he wanted so badly to watch Steve’s six again. Steve grinned brightly at the idea before making a hesitant goodbye. The world needed saving after all.

The application promptly exited after the call had ended. Stark made some improvements with the arm movement but he looked troubled as hell.

“When are you going to tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Bucky asked and turned to face Stark. The guy looked a little concerned and older; something that clicked at Bucky’s lost memories.

“Your temperature is off the charts. The arm is doing its best to cool you down but it’s screwing with your body’s natural reaction for your prepping.” Stark rattled on seriously. “It’s obvious that you’re going into heat and my scanners already told me that you’re a week late.”

Bucky bit his lips until he felt like they were going to bleed under the assault. Hot boiling shame poured all over him at how helpless he was. He can’t even remember how to take care of himself when he’s like this. The memories he were banking on were vague and sometimes he wasn’t even sure if he was just hallucinating. It’s just— it’s been so damn long.

“You’re not just a week late, aren’t you?” Stark observed grimly.

“Try seventy years.” Bucky answered roughly.

Stark made several curses and swiped a calloused hand across his face. He can’t fucking believe that HYDRA took the number one spot of biggest dick to ever be a dick in the universe. Suppressing a heat was just calling for death. The bastards probably thought that the shifter’s cycle was just an inconvenience. Stark read the files, of course. He didn’t like it one bit.

“You have a heat partner, right? Toys and stuff to help you get through this?” Stark asked seriously though he kind of looked like he didn’t want this conversation in the first place.

“Uh,” Bucky bit back lamely. He didn’t really know what to do. It was clear he was horny and wanted to fuck but other than that, he had no other direction to follow. It’s not like he can ask Steve for help as well. Ignore the fact that the blond was about a thousand miles away, Bucky wasn’t even sure of the standing of their relationship.

“This is a disaster,” Stark moaned into his hands while Dum-e patted his back. “Alright, tough guy. Your arm is hurting like a bitch because it’s trying to combat your heat. Your body is trying to go through your cycle normally but the arm is fucking it up. I’m not sure how to help you but the idea that’s at the top of my head is that either we power down your arm or you find a fuck buddy. No suppressants, Sarge. It’s probably going to kill you at this point.”

“I’m not fucking with just anyone.” Bucky snarled as his metal arm whirred. Thoughts of Steve’s bright smile ran through his head. There’s only one person he’d want to mate with and he’s not even sure if Steve wanted Bucky just as badly.

“Why is it always dignity or death with you and Rogers?” Stark shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I’m guessing we’re powering down your Terminator arm just enough to disable its temperature adjustment setting. Don’t blame me if you howl in pain for three days without a heat partner.”

“I have enough practice.” Bucky smirked though there’s a sad haunted look in his eyes. Stark pressed his lips thinly before working on the metal arm again. For some reason, Bucky had the feeling that the goatee guy had a plan up his sleeves.

* * *

Steve was at the top of his game as his shield careened through an abandoned property in the middle of a forest. They received a tip from three days ago that there were people involved in human trafficking and fairy slave trading around these parts. What their informant forgot to tell them was that said traffickers were actually witches.

The several dark magic practitioners making a run for it in their brooms had toppled over and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Natasha was quickly behind Steve and sealed the witches before they could spew out any spells. Sam flew upwards and blocked a stray witch while Clint aimed at her back and paralyzed her with a safe dose of electric shock.

“No need to impress us, Rogers.” Natasha teased lightly with a curl of the lips.

Steve made an amused disbelieving face before tiptoeing through the line of hissing and writhing witches to fetch his shield. The blue, red, and white were dulled due to the mess of spilled potions and guts but it will hopefully wash out.

“I just really want to get home.” Steve sighed and hooked his filthy shield to his back, “I’m tired and I could probably eat through SHIELD’s food supply at this point.”

Sam landed with a soft thud and grinned at Steve, “I’m sure that’s the _only_ reason why.”

Clint padded along and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. They were glowing gold but it was dying down a bit as Clint finally let himself relax. People often forget that he has some avian blood in his system too. He doesn’t have wings like Sam but his eyesight is a terrifying asset. The blond archer yawned and looked dejectedly at the bow stuck to a witch’s back.

“Aw, no.  That was my favorite.” Clint sighed. He didn’t like witches.

Natasha smiled fondly with a hint of amusement. Clint can get a little dramatic when he’s aching for a good sleep marathon. The team packed up and wrangled the witches in place before heading for the Tower. Everyone was about ready to collapse and it was showing through their drunken speech.

“How am I gonna drive my apple?” Clint grumbled worriedly, his eyes already drooping heavily as he plopped to the floor of the quinjet like a starfish. Sam snorted loudly and ruffled his wings. It didn’t help that Sam went along with the sleep drunk version of Clint. Their conversation was a disaster but Steve let them banter. It was calming and his excitement of finally going home was being hauled back.

The sharp ringing of an incoming message reminded Steve not to be so complacent.

* * *

Bucky was pretty damn sure he was hallucinating to high heavens. He was back in Steve’s room gasping for breath as the heat of his fever blurred his vision. Sometimes it grew too hot or too cold and Bucky really can’t decide whether to kick the wall of his nest open or not.

Heat week is fucking frightening. Bucky remembered some few snippets of his past memories, crying out and telling Steve how lucky the other was that he’s human and won’t have to go through cycles. There would be a soft chuckle before bony fingers helped wipe off Bucky’s excessive sweat. In the present, Bucky wanted nothing more but the same coddling. His skin was burning like fire while his left side fought to create frost to lower his temperature. It was useless, of course. The arm was powered down and its only remaining function was its motor skills; all magic was promptly shut down by Stark. His cycle was inevitable now.

The brunet shifter gasped and growled again as he clenched like mad at Steve’s white and dark blue sheets. He was probably going to rip them to pieces but his logical side really didn’t care at this point. Hours or days might have passed. It was difficult to tell but the sunlight from the windows was long gone and now it’s only the blur of artificial lights from the living room that was giving Bucky a massive headache. He was hard as stone and rutted frantically at the available pillows. Bucky didn’t remember if he actually came but his lower half was killing him.

A feral growl left Bucky’s lips as he scented a familiar smell wafting through the air. It was the more potent version of the scent permanently etched into the threads of Steve’s covers. Bucky moaned lewdly and made a sound that was meant to beckon one’s mate. The bed shifted slightly and Bucky felt himself get a little manhandled until he was sitting up. There were whispers of words and soft assurances. Bucky answered them all with a cry of desperation. The low grumbling voice crooned an apology before Bucky’s sweatpants were pulled off. The shifter groaned in appreciation and then suddenly a big warm hand helped him stroked himself almost too gently. It was too much and too little. After enduring such a long time of suffering through the worst erection of his life, Bucky was ready to burst.

“Let go, Buck,” grumbled the deep soothing voice that sounded a little breathless as well.

Bucky enthusiastically answered with a forward of his hips before he gasped his sweet release with Steve’s name on his lips. He never really woke up or regained full consciousness to properly comprehend what was happening. All that Bucky knew was that there was someone taking care of him, treating him like a lover. In moments of lucidity, Bucky wished so hard that it was Steve taking care of him. He hated himself a little bit for being so selfish.

* * *

Bucky woke to the smell of eggs and bacon sizzling on a heated pan. There were various smells of coffee, milk, and honeyed bread that made Bucky hungrier than ever. The fever of his heat was gone and the shifter’s skin felt a little sticky with sweat and his other interesting fluids. Bucky knew he was much worse the night before. Steve probably made an effort to clean him earlier but Bucky couldn’t help it if he wanted to have another go this morning.

After stretching his back, Bucky sheepishly padded from Steve’s bedroom. He could see the blond super soldier’s muscled back shifting through the thin grey shirt that looked like the man’s second skin. Steve was humming an old happy tune as he flipped the slices of bacon to a yellow porcelain plate. The domesticity of the situation sent a thrill down Bucky’s toes. Some part of the brunet wanted to slide behind Steve and sneak his arms around the blond and kiss that exposed skin of his nape.

“Good morning,” Bucky grumbled instead as he licked his lips and smiled as Steve yelped and pulled out his earphones with a quiet curse.

“You’re gonna give a man a heart attack, Buck.” Steve sighed with a weak chuckle as he turned off the stove.

“I think I did that to a prime minister once. I’m not sure.” Bucky answered flatly while Steve tried to figure out what was the proper reaction to that kind of joke. Thankfully, the shifter saw his dilemma and grinned cockily at Steve. The blond huffed disbelievingly and called Bucky a jerk.

There was a fresh dust of pink on Steve’s cheeks that Bucky wanted to lick so badly. Steve put away his phone and scooped the fluffy eggs from the pan. Bucky was starving and he was a little too excited to be served some heavy breakfast by the man who may or may not be his mate. It’s a little complicated but him and Steve had always been complicated.

The humming of the ventilation and the faint clank of their cutlery was all that they could hear. Bucky didn’t mind though, since he still had some episodes when he’d refuse to speak. Steve understood the importance of giving space so he didn’t fuss too much. This time though, there was a steady tension practically dripping out of Steve. The blond kept biting his plump bottom lip or making weird shapes with his mouth like he’s thinking so hard about something. Bucky knew that look. That look meant that either Rogers is about to beat someone’s ass or he’s thinking of a way to say something without freaking out.

Hopefully Bucky did nothing to Steve to get his ass beat.

“If you wanna tell me we should take this outside, at least let me finish my bacon.” Bucky laughed and stuffed his face with the honeycured meat. Steve made an annoyed face and kicked the brunet lightly underneath the table.

“I ain’t lookin’ for a fight.” Steve huffed and maybe Bucky felt his insides go jelly at the old Brooklyn accent. His memories of the time before war weren’t complete yet but he definitely remembered how Steve’s accent worsened as he got worked up.

Bucky smirked and shoved Steve’s ridiculously warm feet off him, “Then what’s with the face, punk?”

“I just—“ Steve pressed his lips thinly as his shoulders hunched like he was trying to get ready to be hurt. Bucky didn’t like that one bit so he made a low guttural comforting noise. The blond sighed and brushed his messy bangs back off his forehead.

“I’m sorry, Buck... if I crossed the line.” Steve apologized sullenly.

“The fuck are you talkin’ about?” Bucky blinked with confusion. There was nothing to apologize for. If anything, it was Bucky who was supposed to grovel and maybe do a month’s worth of dishes even if the brunet shifter hated it like he hates broccoli. Why the hell was his Stevie apologizing?

“I mean, you just had your first heat again.” Steve stated like that’s all there is to explain. Bucky cocked his head to the side as if to point out that Steve isn’t making any damn sense and maybe that extra strong black coffee was finally diluting Steve’s brain.

The blond inhaled deeply and sat up straight, “You were in the critical stage of your heat and you weren’t strong enough to properly, uh— satiate your needs. I was just gonna check in to give you food and clean up but your heart rate was escalating too fast and I—“

Bucky bowed his head and felt the shame crawl under his skin. He made Steve do something that’s uncomfortable and—

“I had to help and I can’t watch you suffer like that so I helped you, ya know... ejaculate and I know that’s not something appropriate between close friends. I’m so sorry for taking advantage of you like that.”

The dragon shifter blinked hard and his brain halted into a stop. Steve said that’s not something close friends do but he also said that he took advantage of him. By how the blond punk worded his apology, it was almost as good as a blatant confession that he wanted what happened.

“I’m sorry.” Steve said earnestly and moved to throw the remains of his barely touched breakfast, “I’ll give you space if you want. I know it can be a upsetting that—“

“Shut the fuck up, Steve. You goddamn stupid punk.” Bucky snarled which caused Steve to flinch like he had been hit by a whip. The dragon shifter immediately regretted losing control of his temper. He really did not like the pained look in Steve’s eyes. Bucky would burn down the world if it was the cause of Steve’s distress.

“Look, I don’t have anything against you, Stevie. If anything, you helped a guy a whole lot and that’s not something that’s easy to give.” Bucky gently smiled at Steve but the blond didn’t seem convinced.

“Were you always this dumb?” Bucky laughed and practically sprawled over the kitchen table towards Steve, close enough that his lips were almost touching the pale skin of Steve’s throat. The blond gulped noisily and Bucky’s hypersensitive hearing could detect the frantic and excited beating of Steve’s heart. Bucky licked his lips again and breathed on the other man’s skin, making Steve shudder with suppressed want. His Stevie was responding very nicely. Bucky’s animal side wanted to eat him whole.

“Stevie, I—“

There was a loud clap of thunder that shook the entirety of the Tower. Bucky immediately bolted forward and pushed Steve underneath him. The shifter was already in partial transformation before Steve reached upward and rubbed gently at Bucky’s wrist. Bucky growled warningly at the source of the sound before the sound of JARVIS’ voice flooded Steve’s apartment.

“Sirs, I believe we have guest.”

* * *

   
“Steven! It’s good to see you my friend!” boomed a loud voice with a merry tone. Steve shook his head and greeted the new arrival with familiar warmth. The man who just appeared had long blond hair that was half tied in a messy bun and he sported a scruffy beard. He was practically carved like marble stone with his muscles bulging without effort. The funny man had a red cape on him and wore clothing that looked like a mix of sturdy metal and cloth. Bucky didn’t like how the man’s eyes twinkled with delight at seeing his Stevie.

“It’s good to see you too, Thor.” Steve smiled easily while Bucky made a move to saunter behind him.

“Ah! A friend of yours, I presume?” Thor grinned brightly and maybe Bucky went a little blind. The tall man offered his hand in a polite greeting and introduced himself. Bucky wasn’t a complete ass so he shook the offered hand and was surprised that there was a slight jolt of static electricity that went up his arm.

“Electricity’s your element, huh?” Bucky cocked a brow.

“I am the god of thunder.” Thor beamed proudly. “I bring down my enemies with the might of the heavens. And you sir, are the son of fire and ice? An interesting combination!”

“Sure,” Bucky smirked and tipped his chin upward. Steve looked like he was going to die of embarrassment but Thor took the gesture pretty well. The god even thought that Bucky was an interesting fellow and invited him to spar one time.

Not minutes later, Tony Stark came walking in from the elevator with a wrench clutched in his hand. He made waving motions at Thor and reprimanded him for his overly-dramatic entrance.

“Look, _He-Man_.” Tony groused and he looked like a panda with his eyebags, “I already told you not to shock the damn building to the ground. I dropped my fucking engine on my toe!”

“Sorry,” Thor grinned sheepishly and raised his hands placatingly.

Steve looked at the inventor with an unimpressed stare, “Language, Tony.”

“I’m sleep-deprived!” Tony complained loudly, “I’m allowed to bitch, Rogers.”

Bucky was growing more territorial and defensive as the three bickered around. He was still a bit uncomfortable around new people and it didn’t help that Steve moved way too easily between his two friends. Bucky grimaced at his dragon side and told it to shut the fuck up. He really didn’t want to come between Steve and his friends but Bucky was just cut off from kissing the living daylights out of Steve. He’s allowed to be a little pissed at the intrusion.

Thankfully, the rumpled state of Clint and Natasha padded into the common room. Natasha looked flawless as ever though her hair was not curled as usual. Clint was a walking disaster and no amount of steam could ever straighten his shirt. Nevertheless, Thor greeted them with the same level of bright enthusiasm as he did to Steve. Bucky felt a little relieved at that. He really needed to get his shit together.

* * *

 

“So...” Thor started a bit awkwardly as he leaned towards the bar counter. It was already night time and Natasha was sitting primly atop a shiny stool, nursing what looked like a concoction of liquor that could send a centaur into a coma.

“So?” Natasha prompted and smiled lightly, bringing the glass towards her lips.

“I wasn’t informed that our friend Steven had already mated.” Thor said seriously. Natasha should have been the one to snort liquor out of her nose but it was Clint who so elegantly did it for her. The redhead grinned at Thor and swirled her drink with amusement.

“What made you say that?” Natasha prompted delicately, not wanting to give anything away. Clint coughed wetly from her side as he wheezed for breath. This is why it’s both a blessing and a curse to have a hearing aid that could make a person hear from afar.

Thor frowned and glanced towards the said couple. Steve and Bucky were sitting closely to each other on the ridiculously large couch of the common room. The two were nursing beers of their own and laughing at each others’ funny jokes.

“Well,” Thor started unsurely, “I do not mean to be so invasive but Steven smells like the essence of his friend.”

Clint made a pained moaning sound, “Oh god, no. I didn’t need to know that. I was happy enough to just let Steve fret over Bucky and never know the details. I need to go to therapy now.”

Natasha rolled her eyes fondly, “We all go to therapy, Clint.”

“Was I wrong in assuming this?” Thor asked worriedly, like mistaking a mating was as bad as committing murder.

“It’s a little complicated, Thor.” Natasha sighed and dropped her drink with a dull thud. She cradled her head to the side and eyed the two super soldiers. “I’m pretty sure Steve wants James to be his. Our resident dragon shifter is pretty blatant in his courting too but they’re both too dumb to realize they actually like each other.”

“I don’t understand. Why won’t Steven accept the courtship if he liked his friend?”

Clint raised his hand like he was reciting in a classroom, “’Cause our good old Cap isn’t well-versed in courtship practices. Pretty sure sex ed wasn’t on the table back in pre-world war. He doesn’t realize Bucky also wants to climb him like a horse.”

Natasha wrinkled her nose, “Don’t you mean _‘climb him like a tree’_?”

“Oh,” Clint blinked and returned to drinking the last shot of his mystery drink.

“You’re drunk.” Natasha observed flatly.

Clint slammed his hand on the countertop, “I’m _Clint!_ ”

“Whoa, calm down, buddy!” Tony butted in as he carried boxes of pizza in his arms. He looked a little ridiculous since the stack is almost as tall as him but Tony refused any type of help. “Are you having an identity crisis, Clint?”

“No, but I’m having pizza blue balls so gimme,” Clint grumbled and made grabby hands at the pizza boxes. Tony tried to swat him away but nothing comes between Clint and greasy food. The archer made a triumphant sound, perched above the hanging wooden shelf like he was some sort of bird.

“This is a grave situation, Natasha.” Thor interjected with urgency and stole the attention of the three.

“What’s a grave situation?” Tony questioned with his pizza stuffed mouth, “Is anyone dead? Do I need to call in a necromancer?”

“The situation is Steve and James’ terminal disease of not talking about feelings.” Natasha answered and crossed her legs on the stool. She should be falling off her chair but the redhead didn’t even flinch at her position.

“Oh, well,” Tony shrugged, “I’ll pay for the funeral expenses then. Ain’t no way you’re getting capsicle to talk mushy feelings. It’s a generational defect or something. I should know. My dad was absolute shit at it too.”

“We should assist them.” Thor declared earnestly, “Back in Asgard, we encourage people to immediately mate with their destined partner so that they’ll be able to reproduce without complications.”

“Uh, they’re both guys.” Clint pointed out.

“Males from our realm are capable of reproduction. Is yours not?”

“Oh wow, I didn’t ever think that the image of Bucky Bear having a baby bump would ever exist in my head.” Tony grimaced and downed a full glass of beer. “This conversation is like in the top ten weirdest shit I’ve ever heard and that includes creepy pasta stories.”

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” Natasha grinned and looked like she has an evil plan of her own. “I don’t mind messing with the boys a bit. I think it’ll be fun. I’m willing to make a bet out of this.”

“Oh, hell no, Nat.” Clint glared at the redhead but he was a bit off mark, “You’re like the goddess of gambling or something. Last time I made a bet with you, I had to eat instant noodles for a week.”

“Scared, Barton?” Natasha wiggled her eyebrows and she immediately knew Clint would fall for her taunting. Tony shrugged and agreed to make a bet. Thor looked a little hesitant, thinking that mates are sacred, but he admitted that making a bet is a fun activity.

“Wait a minute, Thor already said they fucked!” Clint yelled which caused Steve and Bucky to look over to their side. The pair blinked at the image of Clint pressed down the countertop with several hands on his mouth. Natasha winked at the two which was answered by Steve’s weird look. Good thing the group was far enough from the super soldiers and that there was the steady beat of some modern music to muffle whatever it is they were talking about. Else, Clint was gonna get murdered.

“I didn’t say they had sexual intercourse.” Thor frowned and subtly wiped Clint’s drool off his hand.

“Bucky suffered his heat cycle so maybe Steve helped him in some way.” Natasha theorized and sat back on her stool. “I don’t see any bond mark and they don’t smell fully mated. It’s safe to say we still have a chance to get them together permanently.”

“Alright, but I’m not betting my entire credit card this time.” Clint frowned sullenly. Natasha laughed lightly while Tony offered him a spare credit card because Tony’s sure he’s going to win the bet. Thor bounced from his seat and raised his beer to commemorate their deal before promptly smashing it to the ground.

Steve and Bucky were completely clueless that the Avengers already turned them into their mission.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have used Keith's "How am I gonna drive my apple?" from the Try Guys DUI series. I just had to. 
> 
> Anyway another character appeared! I'm keeping this story light with just hints of angst here and there.  
> Hope y'all liked it! Please feel free to tell me what you think!


	5. It Wasn't Just A Dream

“Come on, Buck!” Steve coaxed the other as he bent his knees a bit and assumed a defensive position. Bucky eyed the blond with barely concealed hesitance before assuming a fighting position as well. The two had just finished twenty laps around central park, much to the annoyance of Fury. They had to clear the super soldiers’ running route and it wasn’t an easy feat with the number of civilians poking around.

Bucky was already sweating through his shirt and Steve didn’t look any better than him. Despite that, the blond seemed happier and looked like an overgrown golden retriever as he tried to initiate an impromptu sparring session with his best friend. Bucky might have been a little wary of his own strength but Steve’s unfairly large blue eyes was making him weak.

“You sure ya wanna fight me, Steve?” Bucky grinned like he owned the world, “I ain’t gonna hold out on you so better get ready for some ass whoppin’.”

Steve smiled at the challenge and maybe Bucky shouldn’t have done that if he didn’t want to pop a boner right beside the pond where ducks were curiously watching them.

 _‘Not in front of the ducks, Barnes.’_ Bucky reprimanded himself.

Bucky moved with precision and waited for the blond to strike first. Normally, it would be the brunet shifter who would lose patience in a back alley fight and punch the shit out of the bullies getting their hands on Steve. This time, he was trained to keep still and wait for the opportunity to strike. If there’s one thing good HYDRA did to him, it was beating the impatience out of the dragon shifter.

Steve seemed to sense that Bucky wasn’t going to make a move. With a swift move of his feet, the blond surged forward with blinding speed and faked a right hook before diving to swipe Bucky’s feet off the ground. The shifter’s fast reflexes predicted Steve’s movement and immediately jumped before the blond’s leg even hit Bucky. Steve huffed and flipped himself over to kick Bucky’s torso but the other had caught him in a firm grip.

“Atta boy.” Bucky practically purred and Steve felt himself get hot all over.

Steve kicked Bucky off of him and scrambled to stand up while the other made an ‘oof’ sound. Bucky’s metal arm whirred as the shifter stood at a close distance.

Without waiting for further prompting, Steve threw several punches here and there. Bucky blocked all of them with precision and this caused the blond to be frustrated. Steve kept hitting him more and more until Bucky hauled him by the hips and threw Steve to the grassy patch of land. Steve used his legs to pull Bucky towards him, which was a mistake because now there was a falling hundred something pound super soldier dropping right on top of Steve.

“Heavy.” Steve winced and laughed from under the brunet. Bucky laughed as well but didn’t move to get up. The shifter’s hair fell effortlessly like a curtain and tickled Steve’s cheeks. The blond felt like he was having an asthma attack at how beautiful Bucky is when he’s all flushed and sweaty above him.

Oh wow. That is not an appropriate thought at all.

“Get off me, soldier.” Steve commanded jokingly and tried to push Bucky’s chest away. Another big mistake. The shifter’s pecs were bulging underneath the thin layer of his shirt and holy hell did they fit perfectly under Steve’s palms.

“Is that an order, Captain?” Bucky teased shamelessly, his voice dropping into a husky tone. If Steve was too dumb not to notice Bucky’s efforts in courting him, then the brunet would push his boundaries harder until he can make Steve say ‘yes’ to him. Bucky didn’t care about the consequences anymore. Steve’s reaction when he almost kissed the blond’s throat was enough motivation for Bucky to claim his Stevie as his mate.

“Buck...” Steve gasped breathlessly as the pink tinge of his cheeks turned a shade darker. Bucky licked his lips predatorily, ready to strike at his prey. Bucky’s no saint, though. He wants to play with his food for as long as he can get away with it.

Unfortunately, the ducks had other ideas. The damn birds decided to flap their wings in distress as they honked some godawful sounds that made Bucky’s dragon side want to turn them into roast ducks. Apparently there was a very scandalized senior citizen yelling at them to get a room. Steve snorted so loud that he probably hurt his brain.

“Oh, man. You’d probably look like that when you’re ninety, Stevie.” Bucky grinned as he watched the elderly man get escorted away by SHIELD agents. He didn’t look intimidated by their guns and even threatened some with his cane.

“Hate to break it to ya, Buck,” Steve laughed and wriggled to try and get up, “I’m probably the same age as him right now.”

“Oh, really?” Bucky purred and Steve really did not want to be the receiver of that right now. “Couldn’t tell, doll. Not with you lookin’ like a wet dream.”

Steve’s mind short-circuited so bad that he automatically felt his hands going for his pockets to search for his non-existent inhaler. The way Bucky said it was so similar to how he made the dames back in Brooklyn swoon. With Bucky’s husky voice, he usually made them fall for him in a snpa; hook, line, and sinker. Steve thought he might be imagining things because no way is Bucky ever interested in him in that way, at all. Maybe he’s going crazy. He might have to ask Sam for advice.

“Jerk.” Steve muttered when he had nothing smart to say.

Bucky looked at him intensely before smirking like a pleased cat and getting off of Steve. The blond was about to say something but there were already lines of SHIELD agents telling them that it’s time to leave. Bucky snorted a puff of smoke and whispered to Steve something really rude.

Steve wanted to defend the agents but his mind was still scrambling to make sense of what just happened.

* * *

“Y’all are wrong.” Sam stated disapprovingly as he watched Clint and Tony shamelessly spy on Steve and Bucky. Natasha didn’t even look guilty but she had some dignity in her, unlike the two other men who were on their bellies and looked like gossiping teenagers during sleepovers.

“If you’re going to try and convince me to get a life, I can tell you that Pep already got that part covered like every eight in the morning,” Tony muttered distractedly as he continued to watch through his high-tech telescope. “Resistance is futile, Wilson.”

Sam looked helplessly at Natasha for an explanation but the redhead just smirked at him and shrugged.

“You really don’t want to ask.” Natasha winked.

“Your friends are really interesting,” commented a new voice which prompted Tony and Clint to scramble away from their position. The newcomer laughed behind his hand as he stared at the disgruntled form of a respected archer and supposed genius extraordinaire.

“Oh shit,” Clint cursed and sat up clumsily like a troll, “Hey, Riley.”

Riley tipped a blond wing in greeting, obviously not finished with being amused by the two. Tony was a little more shameless and propped his head on top of his right hand while the other arm arched to pose sexily atop his hips. It kind of made him look ridiculous since his black shirt rode up to the point that it was exposing his belly.

“Welcome to our stalking cult. How may I help you?” Tony smiled in an all-too-pleased grin.

“I’m pretty sure you could get sued for that.” Riley answered back with a grin of his own. Sam rolled his eyes from the side and looked like he wanted to fly out of the windows. Riley was Sam’s mate and had a tendency to balance out the other man. He had sleek dirty white wings with tips of blond on each feather.

Tony made a reprimanding noise and lifted a finger, “You underestimate Pep’s battalion of literal hell bred lawyers.”

“What are you even doing on the floor, Tony?” Sam asked before the smaller brunet started yammering about his intended’s skill in getting him out of trouble.

“We’re trying to settle a bet on whether we can make bald eagles breed faster.” Tony shrugged and caused Clint to fall over in laughter. Natasha tried to hide her smile but she was obviously too weak to Clint’s wheezing and snorting sounds.

“Man, should I even ask what this is all about?” Sam wrinkled his nose and flapped his wings to get away from Clint’s hysterics.

“Steve and James.” Natasha answered quickly and kicked Clint’s stomach to make him shut up.

Riley blinked, a little confused at the situation before Sam realized what they were all up to and made a low reprimanding grumble. “Oh, hell no. Are you fucking serious? Please don’t tell me y’all are messing with their love life.”

“Okay,” Tony answered slowly as he got up, “We won’t then.”

“Stark, you are insufferable.”

“Please don’t flirt with me while your mate is around. It’s very disrespectful.” Tony answered back quickly. “I know I’m a very attractive guy but you lost your chance.”

Sam raised his hands up in mock surrender as he glared at the ceiling like it was the cause of his misfortunes. Riley was of no help since he only laughed and patted Sam’s wings in sympathy. This is what Wilson gets for making poor life choices.

“You guys should really leave them alone. Those two can sort this out without us sticking our noses into their business.”

“Dude, we’d totally agree with you if Steve just made a move on Bucky even just for a little bit,” Clint responded as he stretched his back, “I mean, we’re mostly tired of him being oblivious. Tony had to listen to two hours of Steve asking about Bucky’s metal arm. Don’t even get me started about the inquisition I went through about dealing with disability. I felt like a google search engine, man.”

“Wow, anything else you want to say?” Natasha prompted with a smirk.

“I rest my case, your honor.” Clint huffed though he looked like he had hours of rant material in him.

“All I’m saying is that they’ll get there on their own time.” Sam explained.

Tony made a disbelieving noise, “Please, they’re literally older than sliced bread. Plus! I really am running out of patience and my reputation is on the line with our ongoing bet. Tall, blond, and virgin really needs to suck it up right now either metaphorically or literally. I don’t care anymore.”

“Tony really needs to be penalized for every sex joke he comes up with,” Clint groaned.

The brunet made a shocked sound and put a palm on his chest, “I knew you were only in it for my money.”

“What’s the whole bet about anyway?” Riley asked curiously and brushed a stray strand of blond hair from his forehead. Sam made a dying whale noise which was answered by a slight arch of a brow. Mates were really borderline creepy with their non-verbal communication.

“We’re betting on how long it takes before Daenerys finally loses his shit and mates with capsicle. Wanna join?”

“No, absolutely not.” Sam interjected before Riley could open his mouth. “Steve would be furious if he finds out.”

“You said _‘if’_ ” Tony pointed out but Sam was not buying it. As much fun as it is to tease Steve about his pining, it really doesn’t sit well with Sam to just plan something like this behind Steve’s back. It’s also clear that the two needs to sort out a lot of things between themselves before they enter into an irreversible relationship.

“Relax, Sam. We’re really not doing anything too drastic,” Natasha explained and crossed her legs, “We’ll make a few influences here and there but basically they’re doing all the work. It’s not like they need much help, right Barton?”

“Ugh, it’s like they almost fucked in central park,” Clint wrinkled his nose like a puppy, “I’d also be angry if I were that old man. Kinda impressed he didn’t have a heart attack.”

“No way. Fury let them roam around?” Sam gaped while Tony raised his hand like an obnoxious child trying to impress his teacher.

“Totally on me, by the way! I’m amazing at negotiation.” Tony declared proudly, “But obviously SHIELD doesn’t got shit on my security.”

Riley bit his tongue in an attempt to hide his amusement, “What’re your bets anyway?”

“Uh, I bet on three months.” Clint stated and started counting on his fingers like he’s five, “Then, Tony bet on six months ‘cause he said they had an emotional intelligence of a spoon, and then Thor was unsure but I think he went for two months—“

“Thor is in this too!?” Sam exclaimed disbelievingly.

“—then Nat decided on four months and three weeks.”

“Weirdly specific, by the way.” Tony glared at the redhead, “I’m sure there was some sort of trickery in there, Romanoff.”

Natasha grinned, “I’d like to blame it on my sharp intuition that you so clearly envy.”

Tony scoffed and scrambled up from the floor, muttering about Russian witches and creepy spider ladies that probably have hidden multiple eyes that can see the future. Natasha tuned him out, completely satisfied that Tony’s just probably insecure about his own bet since Natasha had the tendency to be always on the nose about things.

“Just a disclaimer,” Sam butted in, “Riley and I know nothin’ about this game and we’re not liable for any of your shit.”

“Want a gag order on that?” Tony wriggled his eyebrows suggestively which caused Riley to burst out in laughter. Sam made a disgusted noise as he tried to whack the brunet over the head with his wing.

The bets were left untouched but the common concern about Steve and Bucky dancing around for too long eventually spread. Bruce eventually got lumped into the secret plan after his long vacation in India. The half-Orc didn’t place a bet but he willingly offered his help if needed.

The following weeks had been a disaster of the most cliché accidents that ever existed in rom coms. Tony was a menace with his ideas of ‘accidentally’ locking them both in a room by short circuiting the automatic doors of Steve’s apartment. Sometimes he’d force Bucky to carry shit around for him while Steve was made to watch how the brunet’s muscles flexed under the weight of Tony’s equipment. It was the most entertaining week for Tony as he saw Steve’s eyes grow darker and the shifter even licked his lips for good measure.

Clint wasn’t any better and his technique made Natasha want to vomit. It was all too sickeningly sweet and the archer didn’t even shy away from making everyday a Valentine’s Day. There was one time Clint had bought a bouquet of snapdragons with varying shades of fiery red and yellow, saying that it was a sort of peace offering for Natasha. Steve completely bought it and wished him a good luck. Though Clint shoved the bouquet into Steve’s arms and asked him to hold it for him because he forgot to get something.

Steve was left waiting at the lobby of the Tower for an hour with every employee staring at him. The blond flushed at the attention and tried to explain that the flowers weren’t his. It took another thirty minutes before Clint sent a text and apologized that he couldn’t make it back in time and the flowers were his to dispose of since Natasha was unexpectedly called in to report.

Of course, Steve felt a little sad at the thought that such beautiful flowers would have to be tossed out, so naturally he went up to his apartment to have them displayed there. Perhaps, Steve could bust out a few paints of his so he could immortalize the beautiful blooms. He just didn’t expect that Bucky would be in his room, a little red eyed and breathless.

“Hey, Buck.” Steve smiled winningly and showed off the bouquet, “I hope you like flowers.”

Bucky’s eyes widened as he straightened up and eyed the snapdragons like they were made of gold and precious jewels. Steve shuffled awkwardly at the front door before closing it and heading straight to the kitchen to find a large enough jar to act as a temporary vase.

“Do you like it?” Steve asked without looking back at Bucky while he arranged the flowers neatly.

“Yes.” Bucky answered and Steve felt like there was too much raw emotion in there.

Steve didn’t know that snapdragons, in human terms, were long used by secret lovers to communicate their emotions to each other. In dragon terms, it meant ‘will you be my secret love?’

* * *

Things were going very smoothly between Steve and Bucky. Despite the many times Steve woke up to being accidentally punched because of Bucky’s nightmares, they had settled back to the old comfort they used to have when they were younger. Bucky spoke more often and regained his godawful attitude whenever Steve sasses him back. It was a type of disastrous development that Sam gladly skipped out when he visited them.

Fury had been a little more lenient as well. With Tony and Pepper’s encouragement and Natasha’s assessment, Bucky was allowed to go around the city and was even permitted to visit Brooklyn with Steve. It had been an emotional day when the two went back to where their apartment used to be. The building had been meticulously preserved and their room was the same except for the golden plate that indicated it as a historical ground. Bucky’s hitched breath was all Steve needed to hear before he wrapped his arm around the brunet. They stayed like that for what felt like ages.

Steve and Wanda also made an effort to make Bucky comfortable with a big crowd. Most of the time, it was Steve who went with Bucky on random trips but sometimes Wanda and Peter would be available to tag in.

Everything was going too well, and as Bucky had guessed, everything eventually went to shit.

It was early morning when Bucky was trying to fix a proper heavy meal for him and Steve. It didn’t escape his knowledge that the other avengers were trying so hard to make Steve fall for him even harder. Clint and Tony were as subtle as a brick to the face. He silently thanked them for the efforts and was motivated even more to court the hell out of Steve.

Bucky was humming some old song when he flipped on the TV and listened to the mundane morning news. It wasn’t until he heard Steve’s name that he abruptly stopped, causing the oil from the bacon to hiss and sputter.

There in the screen was an old looking man and woman with grim faces, saying something about Steve Rogers and what seems to be his new lover. There was blurred picture of Steve in civilian clothing, dark jacket and jeans with a cap hanging low to cover part of his face while Steve’s hand was intertwined with Bucky’s own. Bucky wore a red shirt under a faded blue-grey jacket and tattered jeans. It was the day that Bucky almost had an anxiety attack from getting too suffocated by the New York crowd.

 _‘It seems that Captain Steve Rogers might be romantically attached to the newly rescued James Buchanan Barnes, a shifter nonetheless, who had been imprisoned by HYDRA’_ the news droned on and Bucky felt his metal arm deforming the handle of the pan.

_‘Sure looks like Cap is not setting a good example, don’t you think so? Interspecies relationships could be quite controversial. One would think Captain America is the conservative type, judging by the era he was born into.’_

Bucky pressed his lips thinly. Yeah, he was very much aware of the discrimination back then. People didn’t like it when you didn’t stick to your own kind. Everyone turned up their noses on humans forming romantic relationships with magically affiliated creatures. This is exactly why Bucky had been so scared out of his mind to tell Steve directly that he wants to mate with him. That confession alone could get them either beat up in public or imprisoned for who knows how long without bail.

_‘—wasn’t he the most wanted criminal since—‘_

_‘What if the Winter Soldier is just working undercover for HYDRA?’_

_‘This could certainly affect the Captain’s popularity with the—‘_

_‘—What about Sharon Carter?’_

Thank god Steve was still out in his morning jog or he would have witnessed Bucky stabbing the counter with a kitchen knife. Even the remote control of the television was not spared as it stuck out helplessly from the cracked hole of the broken screen. Bucky hated this. He was doing so well and the shifter knew that Steve was close to saying yes to him but now—

“James,” whispered a careful voice that sent Bucky’s inner Winter Soldier on high alert. Bucky was already grabbing the nearest weapon he could find but Natasha’s face managed to stop him from throwing it at her.

“What are you doing here?” Bucky groused, still a little twitchy. Scales were crawling down his sleeves and had already covered his entire neck up to his jaw line.

Natasha’s cool gaze landed on the deformed pan and the obviously broken flat screen television, “JARVIS’ alarm had been ringing for almost five minutes. Didn’t you notice?”

“Fuck,” Bucky cursed and carded his fingers through his greasy hair, “I didn’t even hear a damn thing.”

“It happens.” Natasha shrugged rather candidly and took careful steps around the kitchen. Bucky was still crouched low; fangs showing from under his chapped lips as his instincts were going wild. The redhead didn’t seem interested in closing any more distance than she has to. Natasha quietly picked her phone from her pocket and plugged it to the speakers installed in Steve’s kitchen. It was rarely used by Steve no matter how many times Tony gave him shit about it. Steve was more comfortable with getting lost with the blare of his earphones.

A quiet classical music played, soft enough that it could barely be heard. Natasha didn’t utter a word as she sat down on the kitchen floor, carefully avoiding the spilled bacon and sausages that tumbled sadly from the deformed pan.

Bucky breathed deeply as he tried to beat his inner dragon into submission. Natasha was a nice woman. There’s no need to be defensive around her.

The two stayed quiet for the entirety of the moonlight sonata before Natasha finally decided to speak.

“It’s about the news, isn’t it?” she said in a husky tone.

Bucky looked up from where he curled around himself and made a grunting sound.

“Humans just don’t like when things surprise them,” Natasha explained as she drew her legs in and hugged her knees towards her chest, “They don’t understand what’s going on when it’s not the prince who saved the princess from the dragon who ends up getting the bride. Watching the prince and the dragon become friends—or perhaps maybe even more— makes them upset.”

Bucky refused to speak but he saw that Natasha was clenching her jaw hard.

“I’ve been there too,” Natasha explained further though she refused to make eye contact, “Clint and I— we’re complicated. Clint’s family got murdered for the same discrimination you’re suffering now. He tried so hard to pass off as human and show he could provide well for his wife and kids but—“

 _‘They killed them.’_ Bucky finished in his head.

Natasha looked at him sadly, “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. People back there didn’t want to compromise. Clint had suffered so much and now with me—“

Bucky pressed his lips thinly. He could smell that Clint was of avian decent while Natasha was a blood user with a long history of arachnid magic in her veins. The two were complete opposites of one another. Whatever relationship they have must be very complicated.

The two remained that way for what felt like hours. That was how Steve found them, breathless and sweaty from his morning run. He was about to greet them with his signature morning enthusiasm when Natasha’s grim expression stared at him back. Steve’s face fell as he took in the surroundings and the lump of Bucky’s form curled protectively around himself on the kitchen floor.

“Buck...” Steve murmured.

Natasha shook her head and quietly made her way around the kitchen. She had a determined gleam in her eyes as she stepped forward to Steve and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

“Take care of him,” Natasha instructed him firmly before stepping out of the apartment, not even bothering to retrieve her phone.

Steve glanced worriedly at the closed the door before looking at the disaster that was his kitchen. Bucky refused to move from where he was seated even if he could hear Steve crawl closer to him.

“Hey, Bucky,” Steve started and inched a bit closer to the shifter without physically touching him, “Mind telling me what’s going on? I’m getting worried here, pal.”

Bucky remained silent and it broke Steve’s heart a little more.

“Breakfast looks good,” Steve joked a bit lamely as he poked the sausages on the floor, swimming in its own oil, with his foot.

“Fuck you.” Bucky replied without heat but he still refused to lift his head to look at Steve. It was still a win, Steve thought.

Steve smiled and nudged the brunet slightly, “I’m sure the sausages didn’t mean to be rude to you, Buck. We can tell ‘em to ease on the ribbing on your cooking skills.”

“Man, _fuck you_ , Rogers.” Bucky groaned as he glared at the blond. It was unfair, really. Steve’s face lighted up like he reflected the goddamn sun. He was sweaty and flushed from the effort of running probably thirty laps around the park, and Bucky really wanted to press his tongue against that wet skin. Bucky blushed at his thoughts, a little unnerved that even if he’s in distress, his desire for Steve can never waver.

“Come on, Buck.” Steve coaxed again, his lips pressing into a thin line, “You can tell me anything, you know that right? If you don’t feel like talking then we’ll just burn our eyes out with Netflix.”

“Why do you even bother with me?” Bucky smiled grimly. He’s a little upset that’s he’s letting himself slip down the rabbit hole again. The shifter had been working so hard to get better, and then suddenly some stupid news could pull him back to the starting line. It was pathetic and Bucky hated himself for it.

Steve made an incredulous noise, “Are you kidding me? I’ve known you my whole life, Buck. Ain’t nothin’ can ever make me care less about you. You’re stuck with me now, pal.”

Bucky breathed in deeply as he swiped his hair back. He really couldn’t hide anything from his best guy. Steve had always been able to read him like an open book, so there’s really no use in lying or waving it away. The blond will just keep hounding him over it.

“You saw the news?”

Steve blinked, “You know that I hate looking at the news ever since 1930’s.”

“Well, I should have practiced that,” Bucky muttered bitterly, “They were talkin’ about you.”

The blond hummed like he expected that, “They probably ran out of celebrity gossips, then. It’s usually like that. Their business is to run a gossip mill after all.”

“They said we’re together.”

Steve immediately felt himself go stiff at the statement. Bucky was biting his lip and looked like he wanted to throw up. Did the brunet think that the idea of them together was that revolting? Is that why he was so angry that he destroyed Steve’s television and countertop? Steve knew that Bucky was a ladies’ man. The idea of getting lumped in with another fella must’ve been too extreme for his tastes.

“I can’t— Steve, they—“ Bucky faltered and looked at anywhere except Steve, “They said bad things about me and I know they’re all true but if they link me to you— and what? In a romantic way? Shit, Steve, they’d probably say you’re compromised and controlled by HYDRA. I can’t do that to you—“

“Bucky, stop—“

“You gotta clear ‘em up. Stevie, you worked so hard for your title. You even nosedived into the fucking ocean just to save a shit ton of people. You gotta tell ‘em you’re not with me or else— Fuck, I don’t know! Hell, you should probably stay away from me!“

“Buck!” Steve shouted as he gripped the brunet’s shoulders. Bucky immediately felt himself go silent, his wide eyes big enough to trick Steve into thinking this was the younger Bucky Barnes; his childhood friend who was a little lost sometimes due to his age.

“I don’t care about my title,” Steve confessed almost reverently as he pressed his thumbs soothingly along the tense muscles of Bucky’s shoulders, “I’d drop my shield for you, Buck.”

“Don’t say that—“

“But I will!” Steve countered stubbornly and it was too painful to see the honesty etched on the blond’s face, “No one can ever tell me what the hell I should do. They can talk all they want but I’m not leaving your side. Not again.”

Bucky’s face crumbled, his eyes turning watery before Steve led his nose towards the blond’s neck. The shifter jolted and immediately pressed against the pale skin, drinking in the natural musk of Steve and the comfort it brought. Bucky growled softly and practically crawled into Steve’s lap, pressing clawed hands into Steve’s sides in an effort to pin him there.

Steve gasped and held on to the squirming form of Bucky like he was going to get washed away. Bucky always showed his affections physically, something that Steve never quite gotten used to. The shifter was shameless now as he nosed at Steve’s throat in a possessive way. Steve tried to control his body’s reaction but he was half hard and aching with the pleased little throaty noises from Bucky.

This was meant to be a comforting gesture but somehow the tense atmosphere threw them off their balance, causing them to act purely on desperation and instinct. Steve trembled with effort but Bucky can be a little cruel sometimes; especially now that he pressed a soft kiss on Steve’s throat.

“Thank you,” Bucky rasped reverently like he was worshipping a sacred thing, “You always know what to do, Stevie. I’ll make it up to you, I swear. I’ll be good.”

Steve was a little lost and he barely remembered if he said anything to Bucky. There was a throaty laugh before Steve’s eyes fluttered close. Steve was sure they crossed some kind of line after this. For some reason, there’s no fear of rejection that’s plaguing his heart.

* * *

This is not what Steve expected when Bucky promised that he’ll be good.

Bucky was standing confidently in the middle of the armory, fully decked out in his tactical gear. The brunet was inspecting the lines of high tech guns and other weaponry with an eye of a critical expert. Steve felt his mouth go dry as Bucky picked up a heavy looking gun and caressed its ridges to get a feel of the weapon.

This was the third time Bucky had been allowed to join a mission.

“You’re leaving again?” Steve found himself saying as he walked carefully towards Bucky. The brunet looked up from where he was inspecting his chosen gun and gave an apologetic smile. It’s been two months since his breakdown and Bucky had long admitted to himself that he was running away from Steve a little bit. There had been no pictures of them circulating in the internet recently, so Bucky thought his method was working.

“Can’t keep myself stuck in a room forever, Steve.” Bucky explained and it was partially true. His mind had been damaged to high hells but he’s doing much better whenever he’s being given an activity to release all his frustrations. Fury had allowed his first assignment to be low level; a mere escorting activity that didn’t require guns blazing and buildings collapsing like child blocks. Bucky’s response to people and tight spaces had improved greatly, especially since Wanda had been with him the entire time.

Steve pressed his lips together, “That’s good, it’s just— I rarely get to see you anymore.”

“Miss me, punk?” Bucky teased with practiced ease though his heart was thundering so hard under his Kevlar vest. He wanted Steve to miss him as much as Bucky does.

“Jerk,” Steve answered instead but Bucky knew that the small insecure smile on Steve’s face meant that he really did miss Bucky’s presence. Bucky grinned widely and momentarily forgot himself as he rubbed his nose against Steve’s own. It was just so hard for him to keep his hands away from Steve.

“Oh thank god, I thought I was going to murder a news reporter,” Tony sighed, pointedly ignoring the affectionate gesture between the two super soldiers. Honestly, it was so hard to believe that Steve and Bucky could be sickeningly sweet when they’re both dressed to kick ass.

“Why would you murder a reporter?” Steve asked distractedly, tracking Tony as he walked around the armory and texted like he wouldn’t accidentally hit any of the guns displayed.

Tony made a weak noise and waved his hand, “Nothing to worry about, Cap. False alarm.”

“Идиот” Bucky smirked with barely concealed amusement as he tucked two hand guns in his belt.

“Are you part of the assignment too?” Steve asked Tony who was obviously not texting anymore. He was playing an annoying game in his phone that was making weird flappy noises.

“Yep,” Tony replied, “First field trip with Buckaroo. It’ll be fun. I’ll just get some fun stuff from here then we’re moving out. Do try not to worry yourself, grandpa. It’s just three days max and fair lady Romanoff is coming along.”

Steve wrinkled his brows, “Why am I not included?”

Tony snorted. Steve sounded like a child even though he could hear how hard the other tried not to whine about the situation. “No couples allowed. The PDA might scare the Harpies away.”

“We’ll be back soon, Steve.” Bucky promised once Tony puttered away and started yelling at his phone. “s’just a roundup of loose Harpies. What can go wrong?”

Steve nodded with a grim expression, obviously not comfortable that he’s being left behind again. Bucky made a wounded noise at the back of his throat and gathered Steve in his arms, scenting the blond with much conviction. Bucky wanted to step away, walk out of Steve’s line of sight and rethink whether damaged goods like him would be good enough to be the mate of America’s darling.

“Ты не знаешь, как сильно я тебя люблю,” Bucky whispered like it was a secret. Steve smiled and returned the embrace even if he didn’t understand what Bucky just said. Whatever it was, Bucky’s voice was warm with affection. Steve was content to let that feeling follow him for the next few days that will rip Bucky away from him. It was worth it, Steve thought. The shifter needed space to grow and be himself again. Steve would endure the pain of waiting just to see Bucky recover.

* * *

Their three days turned into a full week and maybe Steve was losing his mind.

“I’m pretty sure five cups of coffee is bad for your health, serum included.” Sharon Carter smirked as she slid into the chair in front of Steve. They were in the cafeteria of SHIELD headquarters where lines of circular metal tables littered in the open space. Steve had just returned from sending a report about the orphaned kelpies in Florida. He was hoping he could gather his thoughts here.

“Hello, Sharon.” Steve smiled though it was a little half-hearted. He felt tired and was obviously lacking sleep.

Sharon raised a brow, “You don’t look so good.”

“I haven’t exactly been getting enough rest for the past few days,” Steve explained and downed his coffee in one go, “I’ll be better once something distracts me.”

“Oh, you mean your mysterious lover boy?” Sharon teased. Steve snorted because it was honestly in character for her to be this way. Sharon Carter, tall, blond, and obviously too skilled and pretty for anyone, had been a close friend to Steve ever since he woke up. They had an awkward not-quite-relationship but it ended pretty quickly once Steve realized he can’t date Peggy’s niece. Sharon was nice about it and their friendship still stayed.

“He’s not— _that_.” Steve laughed.

“But you want him to be.” Sharon finished which caused Steve to gulp audibly.

“Sharon—“

“Steve.” Sharon interrupted, “I might not have been around for these past few months but I know you’ve been looking at Barnes’ picture when no one’s looking. Also, the news about you two was pretty much on point except for their opinion on interspecies relationships.”

“I can’t—“ Steve croaked and felt himself losing his will to keep his feelings a secret, “Bucky’s not that way. Besides, I don’t think it’s smart for me to ask him of something more than friendship at this point. That’s just selfish.”

Sharon made a sad noise, “But what if that’s what he wants too?”

“I’m sure what Bucky wants is to get HYRDA’s influences out of his head and live a normal apple pie life.” Steve answered weakly, his hands shaking from the caffeine and his confession.

Sharon reached out over the table and covered Steve’s trembling hands with her own. She smiled sympathetically, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and she moved forward, “You don’t get to say what Barnes wants. Unless that’s what he explicitly told you, we can’t just assume that’s what will make him happy.”

“Don’t—“ Steve pleaded, “Please don’t make me hope.”

Sharon glared at him and pressed their hands tightly, “Rogers, I swear, I will kick your ass if you’re doing the self-sacrifice thing again. You’ve been pining and no— Shut up, I know you have because he’s all you ever talk about.”

“Just can’t hide anything from a smart dame, can’t I?” Steve laughed as he pressed comforting circles on Sharon’s fingers with his thumbs.

“It’s because you love me and that’s what makes you dumb,” Sharon winked jokingly.

Steve was about to tease her back when a sharp snarl sent them separating like they were set on fire. Sharon instinctively drew her gun while Steve gaped at the dark figure looming over them. The heavy curtain of aggression felt oppressive as the figure walked closer, like stalking an annoying vermin.

“Steve.” Bucky growled and his eyes were dark. “Who is this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snapdragons are a real thing! They actually mean deception or strength/graciousness (since they grow in rather difficult areas) They were also used during Victorian times as messages between lovers. Idk it just fits Bucky because of his nature as an assassin/spy who has gone through rough times but he still graciously recovered. 
> 
> Russian translations:  
> Идиот - Idiot; Moron.  
> Ты не знаешь, как сильно я тебя люблю- You don't know how much I love you.
> 
> Will clean this up during the weekend. Thanks for reading!


	6. A Beginning of Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving forward sometimes takes time.

The thing is Bucky had been stuck inside his head for some time now.

Bucky had been man enough to admit that he was running away from Steve to get his thoughts together. Cooling down the press had been part of his motivation too. It worked for a bit but people wanted to know more about him and Steve.

 Which left Bucky to the current crisis he was in.

The shifter was brooding, trying to think if courting Steve was going to be a good idea in the long run. It’s not that he didn’t think Steve was enough; hell, the guy was worth a thousand piles of gold coins a dragon could ever dream of hoarding. It’s just that Steve already made a name for himself in this century. The punk was even called Captain America because of his charm and vomit-inducing sense of justice. Bucky was the opposite of all that. The shifter didn’t know if he could stomach tarnishing his Stevie’s reputation.

“I’m pretty sure staring heatedly at a doll isn’t how voodoo works, James.” Natasha’s voice rang with amusement with a hint of exasperation.

Bucky snorted and put the tattered Captain America ragdoll down, “M’not tryin’ to curse anyone.”

“Penny for your thoughts?” Natasha asked, lifting a perfect brow. It was a weird image to see a beautiful woman pump up her sass in an eirily abandoned apartment in Greece. It was bombed out, like the rest of the small town, and everything was covered in soot and broken glasses. Natasha barely looked concerned by the chaos around her.

“Nothin’ important, паук.” Bucky sighed as he walked towards the doorway, “You used to be a little less nosy before.”

That was another development. Bucky had been remembering big chunks of his memories from different periods of his life. Mostly they made him react violently, breaking and melting his mind until it cools down into a different whole again. It’s like rebreaking a bone because it didn’t heal right. Recently, his memories were of the Red Room and a girl used to be called Natalia. They were bittersweet memories.

Natasha hummed and followed the shifter out to a curtain of cloud dust outside, “That’s what happens when you gain autonomy. Is it a sin to be worried?”

Bucky didn’t answer for a while, just mindlessly walking through debris and the occasional decomposing body. The harpies certainly blew through this town, destroying everything in their path and eating everyone who breathed air. It was a general mess; certainly not a place where you’d want your mate to be walking around.

Bucky gulped audibly.

“You and Clint— how do you do it?” Bucky asked after a few minutes of silence.

The redhead pursed her lips, “Be more specific.”

“We’re products of the Red Room, Natasha. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

Natasha smiled, “Are we talking self-depreciating thoughts here or murderous tendencies?”

Bucky growled lowly which prompted the other to laugh. Natasha could be annoying when she wants to be. Usually, when the topic makes her uncomfortable or when the person she’s talking to is a bundle of dumb and ass. The redhead pressed her lips together as she got momentarily lost in her thoughts.

“I won’t pretend I fully know what’s in your head,” Natasha started, “I know how the past can make us hate ourselves, though. We’ve done a lot of bad things that doesn’t warrant forgiveness.”

Bucky hummed as he continued walking, the curtain of his hair hiding the guarded expression on his face.

“But there are people out there who are more than willing to give us a chance to live again,” Natasha continued, her eyes sparkling with pride and fondness as she eyed Clint not too far away. The archer was in the middle of impressing little Harpy chicks with his skills in archery. The chicks, the size of toddlers, squawked with delight and cooed. They were the sickly runts who were left by their flock. Bucky’s chest tightened.

“If there’s one thing I want to get back, it’s my freedom to be myself again.” Natasha declared with hardened conviction. Bucky raised his head and eyed the redhead closely. “So don’t let HYDRA stop you from being with Steve. He’s a great man. You don’t have to hide your affections from him.”

The shifter grinned boyishly, showing off his pointed fangs playfully, “Sounds genuine. Are you sure this isn’t some game plan of yours to win the bet to get me and Stevie together?”

Natasha didn’t even blink but the low curse of Clint from the comms prompted a smirk from the former assassins. Bucky totally did not forget that they were still on the comms. He was enough of a jerk to try and pull a big one on Steve’s nosy teammates.

“Legolas, you’re the worst spy to ever spy in the entire universe.” Tony’s voice reprimanded as it cackled through the comms. He was in his suit with its shiny gloss of red and yellow that further excited the chicks when he landed dramatically near Clint.

“I used to be better at this I swear,” Clint raised his hands in mock surrender. Bucky grinned from afar and got a middle finger from the archer.

“Are you going to stop us?” Natasha questioned Bucky. It didn’t look like she would give way but she was nice enough to let Bucky feel like he had a say in this. The brunet smiled and shook his head. There was no harm in them trying to get Bucky to succeed. If anything, it’s a clear indication that they approve of him mating with Steve. The mere thought made Bucky’s inner dragon puff up with pride. To be accepted by close friends and family by one’s intended is a great honor.

With his mind made up, Bucky concocted in a plan in his head on how to make Steve permanently his.

“Anyone of you know an assignment with volcanoes in it?” Bucky questioned rather smoothly when they reached the cluster of chicks chirping like mad. Clint shrugged while Tony tapped furiously on the screen of his arm plate.

“Is this a dragon honeymoon thing?” Tony muttered distractedly as he glided through numerous SHIELD files. Fury would definitely suffer from aneurym if he found out how much Tony played with the SHIELD system.

Bucky smirked, “It could be. After all the sneaky shit you’ve all been planning behind our backs, this better be a good spot. I need something very important.”

“Hot volcano sex,” Tony smiled like he’s dying, “Nice. Don’t tell us the details but I got your back, Sarge.”

Bucky made a grumbling confirming noise. It’s not like he’d spread his plans on courting Steve. It’s too private and intimate... and well—

It’s just that, this wasn’t what Bucky had in mind when he got home—

In the present, Steve, for the first the time in his life, was left speechless.

SHIELD agents all around them had drew their guns as Sharon faced off with a partially transformed Bucky. The shifter was spitting furious, with his tan skin slowly being swallowed by black scales. Bucky grew battered looking horns at the sides of his head; fangs dropped down as he hissed his dislike at the blonde lady pointing a gun at him.

There goes the courting plan.

“Alright, everybody just chill!” Tony kept yelling at the armed agents, “Put the guns down! Now!”

 **“Ao emagon se nerve,”** _(You have the nerve.)_ Bucky spat in his old dragon tongue, eyeing Sharon like she was a tiny mouse about to be ripped apart.

Sharon was momentarily startled since she was not used to hearing old draconian languages anymore. People of that particular family and bloodline had been diminished to almost nothing since other creatures used them to gain power during the last few wars. It’s not a common language anymore but Sharon could understand it.

“Nyke gaomagon daor gīmigon skoros ao ȳzaldrīzes hen,” _(I do not know what you speak of.)_ Sharon stumbled in her pronunciation but Bucky seemed to understand what she was trying to say.

The shifter snorted, **“Pirtra.  Ao vestragon naejot gīmigon skoros jaelā naejot laodigon sepār sir.”** _(Lies. You seem to know what you want to steal just now.)_

Sharon frowned and looked between Steve and Bucky like something wasn’t quite right. To steal from a dragon is considered the ultimate sin but Sharon was very sure that she didn’t steal from the dragon’s hoard or—

“Bucky, please.” Steve begged from the side when he finally found his composure. Bucky didn’t even look at Steve; he merely growled a warning in a deep tone that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.

“Hey, do you know what the fuck he’s saying?” Tony whispered urgently at Natasha who was stiff at his side. The redhead looked a little conflicted before Tony gave up and asked JARVIS to translate into his earpiece.

 **“Issa ñuhon yn iēdrosa ao ilagon aōha ondos bē zirȳla!”** (He is mine but still you lay your hands on him!) Bucky was shouting now as the air turned searing hot like falling into the mouth of a volcano.

“Buck! Stop that!” Steve intervened and stepped forward to protect Sharon from the shifter’s rage. Bucky got angrier at the action.

 **“STEVE.”** Bucky growled like a warning shot.

Steve planted himself firmly, refusing to be swept away by the fire of Bucky’s misplaced anger at Sharon. The blond may not have fully understood his bestfriend’s words but they were possessive enough to pierce deep into a man’s bones. There must have been some sort of misunderstanding.

“I said put the guns down, damn it!” Tony barked at the tense agents. The stink of fear and apprehension flooded the cafeteria like toxic gas. The humans might not be able to smell it but the non-human ones were already gagging and shaking.

Steve frowned, stretching his arms and turning himself into a human shield, “I won’t let you hurt innocent people, Buck. This ain’t you. If you want to get to Sharon then you’re gonna have to go through me.”

Bucky stilled for what felt like eons before breathing deeply, a dark rumble echoing in his chest before his horns dissolved into ashes; the scales that covered his tan skin also faded away in embers and crackling fire, **“Nyke would dōrī ōdrikagon ñuha jorrāelagon.”** _(I would never hurt my love.)_

 _“Tegon naejot Barnes! Keligon scaring īlva,”(Earth to Barnes! Stop scaring us.)_ cackled Tony’s electronic voice as his automatic translator turned his ordinary English to Draconian.

“Wow that sounded so cool. Just wanted to try it out one bit.” Tony smiled like he’s pleased with himself before clapping his hands and herding the agents away. Most of them muttered in whispered tones, clearly understanding what just happened. The omega werewolves blushed as they interpreted the encounter as a public claiming. Natasha felt a little embarrassed for the boys.

“What the fuck just happened?” Clint asked as he nudged Natasha from the back. He was a little late since had to drop off the rescued Harpy chicks to the SHIELD nursery. What he saw now were just agents muttering and giggling to themselves while the employees with alpha designations looked put off.

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose, “Boys being dumb in public.”

* * *

“What the hell, Buck!?” Steve spewed heatedly in the confines of their apartment— _his_ — _Jesus_ , when did he start calling it theirs?

Bucky didn’t even seem to hear the blond as he walked towards the fridge, barefoot and half-naked because apparently his heated partial shifting burned through his clothes and even melted the knives lodged in his boots. The dragon shifter didn’t even care.

“Are you listening to me, asshole?” Steve tried again, clearly getting angrier as Bucky continued to ignore him. “You haven’t even met Sharon and you started posturing and threatening her like some knothead alpha.”

“Steve, can you please shut your mouth for a second?” Bucky groused moodily and grabbed the coldest juice drink he could find. His skin was still burning pink and he needed to cool down.

Steve clenched his teeth and hissed, “Fuckin’ make me, Barnes.”

The shifter’s spine straightened, eyes glowing a frosty blue as he took in Steve’s challenging stance. The blond didn’t back down and stared down at the brunet like he was born to piss off every living creature that’s practically bigger than him. For some odd reason, Bucky seemed more turned on than angry at being challenged. Steve was a firecracker; a live wire ready to burst. If Bucky could have his way then he’d definitely make Steve shut up, using either his own tongue or cock.

“You’re such a punk, aren’t cha?” Bucky sneered instead and ignored Steve because he was seconds away from mating the shit out of the guy. “Oblivious as fuck too. Come on, Steve. Don’t make me spell it out for ‘ya.”

“Well, maybe I need it to be spelled out for me!” Steve raised his hands in exasperation.

Of course he wouldn’t just go out there and tell Steve he’s courting him. That’s going against Draconian tradition and almost the equivalent of sticking your dick out to express interest. Dragons courted with subtly and to go against it is like Bucky telling Steve that he’s just a tumble in the sheets. Bucky’d rather eat his toe.

“Alright, then just tell me one fuckin’ thing and we’re done,” Bucky negotiated unfairly as he threw his whole body weight on the couch. It was a disgusting feeling as his sweat mixed with soot and pieces of cloth squelched wetly. “Are you and that blondie girl a thing?”

“Why do you care?” Steve squinted suspiciously at Bucky. It was the wrong response.

Bucky ripped off the bottle cap and sloshed the sticky liquid on his pants, “Answer the fucking question, Steven Grant Rogers.”

“Daor,” _(No)_ Steve replied coolly as he stood over Bucky.

The shifter’s stoic face didn’t flinch even if Bucky’s heart thrummed loudly beneath his chest. Steve just spoke in Draconian language. For a moment Bucky panicked that Steve understood everything but the mere fact that the blond was asking what just happened, confirmed to the brunet that Steve’s just trying to play his game. Bucky smirked inwardly, immensely proud of Steve having the balls to try and corner a dragon shifter.

“Good,” Bucky practically purred as he gulped down the sticky sweet drink sloppily, sloshing and trailing down wet lines down his throat. Steve pressed his lips together painfully, hating the confusing mixture of anger and arousal clouding his brain. His best guy wasn’t making any sense recently and Steve was getting a little tired of it. He’s not entirely oblivious, contrary to popular belief in SHIELD, so Steve definitely picked up that something was going on.

Whatever it is, Steve was going to find out.

* * *

Steven Grant Rogers is a great tactician and had managed to burn through HYDRA bases and trafficking rings like he was born for it. What he lacked for patience in brawls within the confines of shady alleys was compensated ten times as he awaits the perfect opportunity to pounce at his enemies.

This time though, his targets weren’t HYDRA but SHIELD agents themselves.

Steve played it cool, joining Natasha in her practice downstairs at the firing range and completely losing himself in the different kinds of magically imbued bullets that can be used without ripping flesh. They were still in trial and Natasha was one of those entrusted to test them out. The redheaded woman allowed Steve to tag along but her cool eyes knew exactly what Steve was up to. The blond didn’t care. He could also sense Natasha’s evasiveness even if it’s professionally masked.

The next thing was Tony. The guy was shit at lying sometimes, especially when the subject matter is too amusing for him. The inventor was a bit skittish and kept throwing off Steve like the plague followed him. When Pepper arrived, Tony squawked inelegantly and used her as an excuse to scurry away from Steve. Tony Stark definitely knew something.

Bruce was next, although he wasn’t exactly a resident of either SHIELD or Stark Tower. He comes and goes, blowing away through poorer countries and helping out magical creatures trapped in slums. Steve respected him greatly for it.

“If you’re trying to get something from me, I’m sure I’m not the right person for it.” Bruce smiled serenely as he packed away medical kits into a large bag. It was amazing how a guy who could smash down a building could be capable of being delicate.

“So then you do know something,” Steve prompted with a little smirk of his own. Bruce shrugged and said that he’s been so detached from the group lately that he doesn’t have a clue of the latest gossips.

“Don’t think too much about it, Cap.” Bruce assured with a hesitant but soft smile. Steve returned it as he waved away the half-Orc. Bruce probably knew something but it doesn’t look like he’s actively doing anything.

For the next few days, Steve busied himself with drowning in work and trying to untangle the mystery behind everyone’s weird behavior. Bucky sometimes glanced at him worriedly and rightfully so, because they haven’t been talking much recently. Steve wasn’t doing it deliberately but he’d be a hypocrite if he didn’t at least admit to himself that he’s enjoying Bucky’s fussing. The shifter kept leaving Steve snacks and drinks that can’t be bought in regular stores. Steve would politely accept them but he still refused to let Bucky off the hook. The brunet would whine woundedly at being ignored and this practically prompted him to give more expensive and extravagant gifts.

Steve was almost tempted to tell Bucky to stop but the gifts made the apartment look a little more lived in. There were now snowglobes lining the top of the non-traditional chimney, various pieces of shiny golden pins and emerald clasps were poured into a capiz bowl, a type of windowpane shell that had the same appealing look of pearls. Steve’s most favorite were the paints, charcoal, and assorted brushes clumped together neatly with canvases and sketchbooks. Bucky had smiled winningly when Steve all but ripped the plastic cover off the art materials then proceeded to sketch like a kid on Christmas day.

Bucky didn’t know that Steve’s first drawing was of Bucky’s sleeping face.

“Are you still mad at me, Stevie?” Bucky crooned with a pouty face one night after cooking a full breakfast meal for dinner.

Steve blinked, spooning scrambled eggs on top of the French toast, “I wouldn’t be if you stopped being a jerk and apologize to Sharon.”

The shifter groaned and buried his face into his hands, “You still don’t get it?”

Steve felt himself go still. Maybe, at the back of his head, he had an idea of what’s going on but it was too impossible. It was an idea that his brain and heart couldn’t even begin to fathom, so he thought of something else. Tried to reason it’s anything but that.

But really, Steve’s confusion and stubborness shouldn’t make Bucky sad. His bestfriend might have been an asshole to Sharon but there must have been a good explanation for it. He’s not condoning those actions but Steve also can’t bear looking at Bucky’s frown. He’d been doing so well in recovering from his past trauma. There’s no need to backtrack now.

“Just apologize for shouting at her and we’re good, Buck,” Steve smiled and reached over the table to cover Bucky’s calloused hands with his own. The brunet’s eyes widened in time with the flush of his cheeks that Steve felt himself grow more confident. “You’ve always got me, jerk. Could never stay mad even if you’re a dumbass.”

Bucky grinned cheekily.

It was a relief that Bucky had indeed made peace with Sharon the next day.

Steve had never been more proud.

* * *

It was a bright sunny day as Steve jogged through the park, working up a sweat that made his shirt stick to his skin. He had just accompanied Bucky to his weekly therapy and now he was just waiting for the session to be over. Steve was happy that his bestfriend was getting all the help he needed. Wanda teased him relentlessly over it but the blond didn’t mind. Bucky is his weakness.

After an hour and a half, Steve finally stopped and made his way back to SHIELD. The number of civilians walking through the park was already escalating and maybe the group of girls looking at his wet chest was making America’s Darling a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. They kept giggling as Steve ducked his head shyly and ran towards SHIELD like he was set on fire.

Thankfully, not a lot of agents were scattered around. Some of those loitering the building had been too busy, noses buried deep into white folders and manila envelopes like their life depended on it. Steve scuttled pass the foot traffic and made his way to the cafeteria to grab a bottle of water. He was thristy as hell even after he finished five bottles of his own drink. Steve was about ready to inhale an entire river when the winged backs of Sam and Riley greeted him.

Riley’s wings were arched playfully and shook up and down to imitate the laughter of its owner. Sam grinned toothily and shoved Riley to the side after his mate said something.

“Hey guys,” Steve greeted, face flush with brightness that it may have blinded the two. Riley covered his mouth guiltily while Sam tried to hide a groan.

“Hello Steve,” Riley greeted as his wings fluttered nervously as if it’s trying to hide something behind the two.

Steve raised a brow, “Yeah that totally doesn’t look suspicious at all.”

“We’re embarrassed for the sake of SHIELD,” Sam smiled while Riley snorted.

Steve looked over their shoulders and saw huge jars lined up with clumps of cash and piles of coins stacked like they were overcompensated tip jars. Each held labels with different colors, taped neatly on the sides with scrawls of weird writing such as ‘Team Caw Caw Motherfucker’, ‘Jägerbomb’, ‘Sentient Powerbank’, and ‘ ~~Strongest Avenger~~ Point Break’. Steve raised a brow because he definitely knew what some of those meant. He just didn’t know what the cash was for.

“You up to see Barnes?” Sam asked when Steve looked like he was about to hurt his brain from thinking. The former pararescue might not be entirely on board with betting on Steve’s love life but he ain’t a party pooper. He’s pretty sure some agents invested their entire month’s salary in this. It’s pretty scary how competitive SHIELD could be.

“Yeah,” Steve answered distractedly before rubbing at the back of his neck. “I heard he’s practicing his awareness when shifting though, so I’m not sure if it’s worth it to shower before heading out to the field.”

“Steve, you can be covered in mud and grease but I’m pretty sure Barnes won’t even bat an eyelid.” Sam grinned like he’s a little pleased with himself. Riley nodded sagely from his side.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna go up.” Steve declared as he pointedly ignored the meaning behind Sam’s words. The other man laughed loudly before shaking his head and whispering something to Riley. The blond man nodded before fluttering his wings and kissing Sam on the cheek as a goodbye.

“I’m comin’ with you,” Sam said after jogging after Steve, “Barnes was actually assigned to me for rehabilitation. Gotta keep your boy in top shape for flight.”

Steve glanced worriedly at Sam, “Is he alright? I didn’t know he had some difficulty in flying.”

“Nah, man. His wings are mostly okay but we just gotta check if he’s controlling himself alright up there. Stark also made some few adjustments with his metal arm. We figured it might tip his balance but it’s only just a possibility.”

Steve hummed and jabbed on the elevator button with a little more force than necessary. His frustration wasn’t directed at Sam. Steve just really hated the topic about HYDRA. For all of his years of existence, they’ve done nothing good to humans and magical creatures alike. The fact that they meddled with Bucky made the fight a little more personal.

The elevator made a soft dinging noise before its doors opened; glass walls with metal railings made it possible to see the stunning view of the city from SHIELD’s main building. Steve stepped inside and stared inquisitively at Sam. He knew how much Sam hated elevators but now he was stepping right behind Steve.

“You sure about this?” Steve smiled softly, “I know how suffocating it gets in here.”

“Don’t remind me Steve,” Sam groaned as he wrinkled his nose, “I don’t particularly like being in a glass box but the view helps; makes me feel less enclosed. Besides, it’s about time to face my own demons.”

“Good man.” Steve beamed at his friend and clapped him on the shoulder before he pressed his thumb on the scanner and pushed the button to the highest floor. Sam had been real calm the entire time and Steve couldn’t hide the pride swelling in him. His friends were fighters. No amount of inner demons could ever make them yield.

When the elevator reached its destination, Sam all but ran into the open space. Steve wanted to laugh at the comedic timing but he wasn’t a total asshole. Sam needed comfort, he thought. Apparently, Steve was wrong because the winged man kept laughing like an idiot and practically made a full dictionary of all the curse words he knew. Steve was impressed and whistled lowly. He didn’t know that mothers and llamas could be used as an insult like that.

It didn’t take long for Sam to finally compose himself and urge Steve to move to where Bucky was having his therapy session. The top floor of SHIELD provided enough open space for a full adult dragon shifter to transform. The open ground was mostly covered in cement but there were patches of little gardens caked with flowers and smooth stones here and there. A huge oak tree stood by the near end, providing shade and a temporary home for sprites, dwarves, and the occassional fairy. Steve gave them a casual salute, remembering the creatures as previously rescued victims from a flash flood.

As one might have imagined, the floor was also enchanted to stretch out further than how it was originally built. The few square meters stretched on and forced Sam and Steve to walk for a few minutes before reaching Bucky.

It was— such a sight. At least it was for Steve.

The brunet was bracing himself on his knees, panting a little with effort as drops of sweat rolled down the wide expanse of exposed tan skin. There were stray scales dotting him here and there and honestly, Steve shouldn’t be so hot and bothered if it weren’t for the fact that Bucky’s muscled back and pert ass was just— _there_ — in his direct line of sight. There was not an inch of clothing in sight and Steve felt his soul separating from his body.

“Steve!” Bucky grinned cheekily and turned to see Steve for himself. Sam squawked indignantly and almost threw up with laughter because, of course, Wanda is a little shit and conveniently put a censor on Bucky’s dick. The red whisps of her magic flared to cover the exposed part and Steve really was about to die where he stood.

“Wanda!” Sam shrieked as he kept laughing painfully.

“What!?” Wanda glared and pouted at them, “I can’t stare at his dick, okay? It’s like seeing a brother’s private parts. Gross!”

Bucky merely rolled his eyes, completely unperturbed by his nudity, “Humans are so hung up over being naked. It’s just skin.”

“Uh, but you didn’t cover his ass.” Steve babbled as he internally reprimanded himself. _Really, Steve? That’s your concern?_

Wanda smiled innocently, “His butt looks nice. Wouldn’t want to deprive you of the view. The dick is just crossing the line, though. Sorry.”

Steve’s nostrils flared as he scrubbed a hand over his face. Sam wasn’t of any help as he wheezed like a dying man before patting Steve sympathetical on the shoulder. He takes it back. Steve’s not proud of his friends. They’re the worst little demons to have ever existed.

The lead therapist cleared her throat loudly before walking over to Sam to hand over some of her notes. Bucky’s face remained uninterested and neutral as Wanda snuck away and bid them a goodbye. Of course, her magic dropped and Steve was left with a— one hell of a view.

Bucky didn’t even try to cover himself up as he sauntered over to the blond with a cheeky grin. Steve’s mouth dried up like the damn Sahara desert. Contrary to popular belief, Steve isn’t as clean and prude as media portrayed him. There’s a filthy part of him that _wants_ but he had managed to control it for so long until this moment. That tiny part of him was now yelling and screaming to fuck or be fucked. It was weird. He dearly hoped Bucky wouldn’t smell arousal on him.

“How’s the morning jog, you health nut?” Bucky smiled and maybe he really shouldn’t be flaunting his cock like that no matter how massive it is. It’s kinda rude to Steve’s fraying self-control.

“It’s was fine,” Steve hissed through his teeth, “Although, I think the commuters were more interested with my wet shirt.”

Bucky licked his lips and stared at Steve’s still damp pecs before staring at the blond’s eyes with hunger, “You’ve got nice tits. I can’t blame ‘em.”

“Shit.” Steve cursed lowly before Sam called them. The blond internally prayed thanks to whatever higher being is still listening to him but Bucky seemed a little put out. The shifter snarled and postured right beside Steve.

Sam raised a brow at the mixed scents of confusion, anger, and a shit ton of sexual frustration. Honestly, Sam didn’t really want to know because one of them is naked while the other is most definitely hiding the front of their pants. With a sigh, Sam reintroduced himself to Bucky and laid down his credentials as what he jokingly called himself a ‘flight instructor’. He explained that Bucky might need to practice his flying skills again if there was any sort of long term complication from HYDRA’s previous experiments or Stark’s recent remodification.

“You any good?” Bucky tipped his chin challengingly. Dragons and shifters prided themselve in being powerful creatures of both land and air. They were practically the largest predators to ever glide through the skies.

Sam shrugged before expanding his wings for flight, “Let’s find out.”

Of course, Sam wasn’t an idiot. From how Bucky was holding himself, it was clear that the dragon shifter wanted to challenge him to an aerial battle but had been holding himself back because Steve might disapprove. It’s a sort of courting practice done by his kind as well. All creatures with the ability to fly would want to impress their future mates with this particular skill. Sam would help out Bucky since the brunet looked like he’s desperate to show Steve all the goods.

Literally.

With a dick out.

Bucky wasted no time before he dove for the edge of the building, skin being swallowed by orange embers of fire before the soot gave way for scales. Bucky’s dragon form was about half the size of a regular building, with a roar powerful enough to make the ground rumble. Sam muttered a ‘show off’ before he took off into the air with his lithe form and did some somersaults of his own.

Steve watched in awe as Bucky rose up to the sky with confidence, black scales glittering under the assault of the raging sunlight. Sam whistled before swooping upwards then immediately dived back in frightening speed. Bucky immitated the move with practiced ease before flying back up to avoid hitting the ground. Sam made an approving noise before he banked to the right and circled the building together with the dragon.

It was an amazing sight, seeing a giant creature move through the air like he wasn’t as heavy as cruise liner ships. Bucky made look so easy and so freeing, Steve wanted to be there flying beside him as well.

The flight was going well until Sam did a particular move when the wind changed that sent Bucky careening towards the building. Steve shouted as he ran towards Bucky’s dropping form, instincts kicking in to catch his bestfriend even though Steve was most probably going to be crushed to death. Bucky was fast enough to try and catch himself with the upwards gust and immediately transformed back into his human form before crashing into Steve’s waiting arms. The two rolled and grunted at the brunt force became they stopped into a halt, staring at each other as Bucky panted while straddling Steve.

“Hi.” Steve said stupidly because he was in love but he didn’t even know it yet.

“Ya ain’t gonna ask a fella like me if it hurt falling from heaven?” Bucky grinned boyishly with a proud bravado that shouldn’t come from a man who almost fell to his death. Again.

Steve pressed his lips together, bracing his arms tighter around Bucky as the memory from the train flashed before his eyes; Bucky falling and being unable to transform because of Zola’s experiments.

_“Bucky! No!”_

The dragon shifter immediately sensed Steve’s growing distress and did what instincts told him to do. Bucky nuzzled at Steve and licked his lips, a common sign of comfort between dragons. Steve went still before he relaxed, his mouth opening a bit and Bucky wanted nothing more than to plunge his tongue into Steve’s wet mouth.

“You alright, man?” Sam asked when he landed with a soft thud.

Bucky sharply nodded before he mournfully pulled away from Steve. “The wind suddenly changed and it spooked the hell outta me.”

“I know,” Sam answered as he looked around with a calculating look, “almost like it was done on purpose.”

Bucky hummed his assent before offering a hand and pulling Steve up. There were gashes on his elbows that were the color of angry red and Steve was definitely getting an ugly bruise on his back. Bucky’s inner dragon snarled at having to see his Steve harmed because he got careless.

“I’m fine, Buck.” Steve assured the other. It wasn’t like it’s going to work but Steve could try. Bucky had a tendency to be protective, especially when Steve was a short little human being who couldn’t even do a simple task like _breathing_ properly.

Bucky didn’t let it go but he didn’t whine about it either. The shifter merely listened to Sam and his notes on how Bucky’s flight was almost perfect except when he banked right, his left arm clearly making his balance a little awkward. Steve remained quiet the whole time, trying so hard not to rub at his injured flesh. Bucky’s eyes flashed before he grabbed Steve’s hand and soothed it with his thumb.

For now, all was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally wrapped this up after long weeks of having no motivation in my head. I find this chapter interesting because it's the first time I ever used a fictional language. Shout out to all the Game of Thrones fans out there. If you're really deep into the fandom, Bucky's mother tongue is going to be extremely familiar to you. 
> 
> This wasn't heavily edited so there will be some mistakes here and there. Comment if you find anything wrong or missing!
> 
> As always, thank you for the love!  
> Comments, kudos, bookmarks, and hits are all appreciated! (and keeps the author alive!)
> 
> Until next time!


	7. It's Been A Long, Long Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pulling off rom-com ideas is a mission fit for the gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the part where the tag "crack treated seriously" comes into play.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Music you can listen to: Candyman by Christina Aguilera and It's Been A Long, Long Time by Kitty Kallen

In life, people always get moments of turning points. It’s different for everyone, as some situations are subtle and easy to miss, while others get world changing events that are right in their faces. As the old saying goes, ‘a person is defined by his choices’. Humans would have to choose between right or wrong, even if the difference between them could hardly be defined at that moment.

A god could hardly be faulted for being tempted to indulge himself with interfering with inconsequential matters such as the human free will. They make mistakes and how they react to their own faults is truly the core of one’s source of entertainment.

That’s why in this moment, two soldiers would have to make use of their wit if they would ever want to survive the next few days.

It would have been so much easier if they would just kneel.

A distant laugh echoes through the starry night.

**Day 1**

Steve never really slept well ever since he woke up in a different time. Nightmares and guilt would constantly appear whenever he so much as thinks of going to bed. What should have been a moment of relaxing was just turned into another battle to fight for Steve.

This time though, Steve was pretty sure he’s drooling a bit and maybe the domestic dream he had about him and Bucky slow dancing in their old apartment was helping chase his nightmares away. It was a good dream; a great dream. The rattling music from their neighbor was soft and dulled but it calmed Steve’s heart as their bodies swayed in tune with the romantic music. Bucky in this dream had shorter hair but his metal arm remained. There was a tiny smirk on his face as he ducked down and pressed his lips towards Steve’s good ear and said—

“Having a good dream, Stevie?”

Steve immediately blinked awake, embarrassed and definitely sporting an impressive morning boner, as he took in the smug sight of Bucky holding him close as they snuggled on a bed that was most definitely not his, judging by the grey and red tones of the sheets.

Oh fuck.

Bucky yelped as Steve scrambled away, effectively dragging the sheets and the full weight of Bucky down with him on the cold floor. The blond was momentarily disoriented as the shower of blankets and pillows made him sputter and cough.

“Steve, what the hell!?” Bucky complained as he untangled himself from the mess they made.

“Why am I in your bed!?” Steve squawked, his cheeks burning hot. Of course, Bucky just had to have that habit of sleeping in only his underwear. Those sculpted muscles and long limbs should be banned from Steve’s apartment.

The shifter made an unimpressed faced and shoved Steve with a pillow, “You had a pretty bad nightmare, you lug; scared the holy hell outta me. You were pretty out of it when you walked into my room.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me to go back to my room?” Steve blinked owlishly, sitting on the covers like a lost child. Bucky’s heart ached.

“I wasn’t gonna let you suffer through that,” Bucky glared disapprovingly, “M’not gonna tell my best guy to scram when he’s fightin’ a battle of his own. I’m with you till the end of the line, pal.”

Steve’s cheeks flushed a bright red before he babbled some weird excuse and bolted away from the room. Bucky blinked, a little confused as to why Steve smelled like the sweet scent of arousal and embarrassment. Maybe his courting was working after all?

* * *

Steve was having the weirdest day of his life.

 The baffling shower of foreign life (Aliens, Steve. That’s what they’re called) across New York, resurrection of German cults or even AIs going sentient was something Steve Rogers could handle with a straight face. After all, the world was progressing towards— _weirdness_ ; so really, there’s just no room to be baffled anymore.

This time though, the weird unexplainable thing was very simple. So, naturally, it made Steve panic harder than apocalyptic levels of problems.

It started out with a simple message from Natasha that she was dropping Steve from her team since the territorial problems along the borders of Japan had dwindled down. Steve thought nothing of it and was actually thankful that there’s no need to use force to get the settlers to fix their problem without sparking a full blown civil war. It got a bit suspicious when Fury also cleared him of his morning schedule, saying that another independent organization volunteered to help refugee children cross the seas. The last straw was when Sam called him to cancel their night out because Riley just won the raffle hosted by his favorite nighttime show. The lucky couple just won an all expenses paid trip to Southern Italy.

So now, Steve was left with a blank schedule.

That never happens.

_Ever._

“Don’t think about it too hard, punk. Thinking ain’t good for ya’,” Bucky commented distractedly as he shoved obnoxious amounts of popcorn into his mouth. The shifter was wearing a soft gray sweatshirt, loose sweatpants, and funny socks with little Captain America logos stitched to them in blaring red, white, and blue. The weather outside was a little too hot but Steve’s air conditioner was cranked up to the highest level. It was basically winter wonderland.

Steve’s nose scrunched up, “Jerk. You have no right to insult me when you’re pushing my electricity bill through the roof.”

“Stark doesn’t make you pay,” Bucky corrected with a full mouth while the dull sounds of the television hummed.

Steve rolled his eyes because he definitely insisted on paying half of his bills; otherwise, Steve threatened to leave the Tower and find an apartment of his own. Tony glared at him and pouted like a child before stomping off with an annoying mutter. So, yes, Steve’s wallet was definitely going to have a dent if Bucky kept hogging the air conditioner.

“I just don’t get it,” Steve muttered with a distressed sigh before sitting heavily next to Bucky, “My schedule’s been completely wiped today.”

Bucky raised a thick brow, “Ain’t that a good thing?”

“It’s giving me anxiety.” Steve made a sour face before shoving Bucky and sticking his hand into the popcorn bowl. The brunet squawked indignantly, attempting to swat away the prying hands but to no avail. Steve made a victorious noise as he munched on the popcorn.

“Don’t Sarah ever tell you not to steal from a dragon?” Bucky growled playfully as he dug his socked feet underneath Steve’s thick things. The blond stuck his tongue out and refused to move away.

“My mom told me to stand up to my bullies and that’s what I’m doing.”

“I think you’re barking at the wrong tree, Stevie.”

“Well, I think you need to turn down the air conditioner before I get bankrupt.”

“I think you need to shut the hell up,” Bucky smirked.

Steve glared at him, “Language.”

The shifter laughed loudly before turning his attention back to the television. It was some sci-fi movie with a lot of flight scenes that made Steve want to vomit due to vertigo. Bucky doesn’t seem to mind the confusing camera angles and is rather enamored by all the tech that’s in the movie. Steve smiled softly before pressing against Bucky’s side, deciding that if he has no work then he’d rather spend his day with Bucky.

“God I love the future,” Bucky sighed dreamily as the guy with pointy ears stopped their enemies with a stun gun.

“You do know we sorta have that kind of technology, Buck.”

Bucky grinned at the blond, “I know. And you’re here too so that makes it more awesome.”

Steve blushed and felt his stomach flutter with nerves. His childhood friend seemed content with the silence of their little domestic bliss. The movie continued to drone on until the next suggested shows kept automatically playing. Steve didn’t even realize it was already night time and that the way they were cuddling for warmth looked anything but platonic.

The world, for once, was quiet.

* * *

**Day 2**

The next day, it was Bucky’s turn to have his own little crisis.

Contrary to popular belief, James Buchanan Barnes was not an exhibitionist. Winifred Barnes, bless her soul, did not raise her boy to walk around without a stitch of clothing. Though dragons and shifters did not share the same human shame about too much skin, they learned to adapt and adjust for the sake of their neighbors’ sanity.

So yes, Bucky did not make a habit of showing off his dick.

The problem was it seemed to be the complete opposite recently. There would be days when he’d have to walk around the apartment without a shirt or he’d be missing pants. Bucky felt like he was probably going insane or reverting back to forgetfulness but his mind clearly remembered that he did put some clothes on. It shouldn’t be a problem, really. What’s another day wearing nothing when the temperature outside was searing hot.

The main problem was Steve.

Steve looked like he was minutes away from shoving Bucky into the nearest closet to get some damn pants on. The blond tried to be understanding and would look politely away, as if he needed to protect Bucky’s dignity. It was alarmingly cute and if Bucky had a say in it, he’d like to tell Steve that he didn’t want his chastity to be safe anywhere within the vicinity of the blond man.

However, life has a way of going towards the exact opposite direction of where people wanted to go.

“Buck, seriously!” Steve hissed as he covered his eyes with the palm of his hand. The rush of red poured through the veins in the blond’s cheeks, looking delicate and mouthwatering.

Bucky raised his hands pleadingly.

“I swear I had a towel,” he said as he groaned at his naked and wet state. The brunet was fresh out of the shower and he was damn sure he wrapped that insanely fluffy deep green towel around his waist before strutting towards the guest bedroom.

“Well, it can’t just disappear!” Steve gritted and walked away hurriedly. The scent of embarrassment and something exciting made Bucky’s inner dragon growl with delight. He really shouldn’t be turned on when his cock was on display for the whole world to see but Bucky seemed to interpret the vulnerability and openess of exposure as a motivation. _Okay, maybe he was a tiny bit of an exhibitionist._

“Come on, Stevie,” Bucky crooned sweetly as he waddled wetly through the floor and grabbed a jacket hanging from a chair to cover his parts, “It didn’t used to bother ‘ya before.”

Steve muttered something, clearly too flustered to properly make a coherent answer. The blond was kneeling down, grabbing furiously through the items in the refrigerator before promptly shutting it closed and gaping at Bucky like a fish out of water.

“Is that my—“

Bucky blinked and looked at the jacket.

Oh.

“Steve—“

“Jesus, Buck! Get your dick off of my jacket!”

Bucky snorted inelegantly before throwing the soiled clothing to Steve’s face. The blond sputtered before wrenching the clothing off of him and glaring at the brunet with icy daggers.

“I was going to use this today,” Steve growled.

“Great,” Bucky smiled flawlessly and raised his hands like they just solved world hunger, “You’re going to smell like me, so the knotheads wouldn’t touch ‘ya. You get your oh so lovely personal space. What’s not to like?”

Steve looked like he wanted to say something but JARVIS interrupted. The loud ringing of what clearly is the assigned ringtone for Natasha was blaring through the speakers. Steve felt his heart drop. The redhead had a habit of skinning latecomers alive. Shit.

“We’re going to talk about this later,” Steve said firmly as he wrapped that adorable looking red and white letterman jacket around his broad shoulders. Bucky held back a helpless keen at the authoritative tone, licking his lips unconsciously to express his hidden desire to be mounted at this moment.

“Don’t forget to write,”Bucky replied cheekily, his voice dropping into a husky tone.

The sharp spike of want from Steve did not go unnoticed.

JARVIS made an uncomfortable noise before herding Steve away.

* * *

The rest of Bucky’s afternoon was a bit dull. Therapy sessions were cut shorter than usual since he’s been improving a lot. Wanda had been extremely happy and announced her gratefulness at not seeing Bucky’s ‘stupid face’ again. The shifter snapped his teeth at the witch playfully before shoving her away to enjoy the rest of the day. He knew she’d been itching to go see her brother for a while now. Pietro would be waltzing into the Stark Tower today after his own prolonged mission in Romania. Wanda was practically the epitome of nerves trapped in a human body. The dragon shifter was more than happy to let her go.

As for Bucky, he contemplated on going to the gym but the idea of being sweaty and disgusting combined with the heat of New York wasn’t as pleasing. The ventilation system was doing its best to cool everyone loitering around the Stark Tower but for some reason, the city was scorching hot that it bled through the thick glass walls.

It’s going to be an unbearable afternoon.

Or so Bucky thought.

The sweet scent of foreign blooms reached his nose before he could even see it. It was so frightfully dramatic and beautiful that Bucky felt like he might have slipped into an alternate reality where soap operas were the norm. Clearly though, it’s not, since the falling pink and white petals were very much real and soft to the touch.

What the hell?

“Oh, thank goodness!” said a relieved voice that undoubtedly came from Pepper Potts. The lady elf was in stunning ruby red heels, clanking loudly through the marble floors of the Stark Tower. She wore a loose red dress, hair curled into a neat bun, and pearls adorning her neck and ears. She was every bit as beautiful as her kind were portrayed to be.

“Did Stark do something dumb again?” Bucky asked with a tiny smile. Tony Stark had a habit of trying to bribe Pepper’s hurt feelings through buying her obnoxiously expensive things. So, really, if there’s something too big and too damn pricey sitting at the front door of the Tower, it’s really not far-fetched to think that Tony made Pepper angry again.

“No,” Pepper laughed airily as she tried to catch her breath, “I’ve ordered some flowers in preparation for the wedding. I mean, we’re both following elven and human traditions so— this is my part of the prep. Got to choose which flowers are the best, you know?”

Bucky grinned widely, “Oh yeah? I heard you two were going to be mated. Didn’t know it was gonna be so soon.”

“This part is the private one,” Pepper winked and invited Bucky to accompany her to inspect the flowers, “I know Tony loves to throw big parties but I wanted something a little more solemn. You’re coming to the wedding, right? Both of them? The first one’s not until a month or so.”

“I—I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Bucky answered honestly as he ducked his head in shame. He was the assassin of the century; the fist of HYDRA who killed innocent people without even blinking. As far as Bucky was concerned, he didn’t deserve the nice little gestures from Steve’s friends, no matter how he craved such good will.

“That’s ridiculous!” Pepper replied, her tone sounding like she was offended and scandalized at the idea that Bucky shouldn’t be invited. “You’re part of the family now, Sergeant Barnes. Honestly, it’s only natural that you attend. And who else would be our dear Steve’s date?”

“I’m sure that Carter girl is available.” Bucky was smiling a bit. It was a well known fact that the dragon shifter and Sharon share a delicate not-really-friends relationship. He knew well enough that the human girl wouldn’t pursue Steve, having said so herself. So really, there’s no harm in that little jab. Pepper seemed to think otherwise as she planted her hands on her hips. For a moment, Bucky was reminded of his long lost mother.

“James Buchanan Barnes,” Pepper stated sternly, causing Bucky to straighten up like the good soldier he is, “I’ve seen how you look at Steve, and publicly claimed him at that, and I will not allow you to make poor jokes like that. Besides, you two would look good with matching blue suits!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bucky grinned before following Pepper down the steps to meet their delivery man. Flowers of all sorts of sizes and shapes sat elegantly on white vases the size of Bucky’s torso. What caugh his eye were the Crocus flowers all huddled together with Bear’s breeches sticking out artistically from all sides.

These were—

“Fresh from Romania! Oh—“ cried a teen voice from behind the large van. He had wisps of gray and white hair, darkening at the roots. The boyish charm he carried was still there despite his age. What was noticeable was that half of him had horse hooves and a swishing tail. He was a centaur.

“Pietro! Stop being an ass and help me bring this down!” Wanda complained from inside the van while Clint jumped out of nowhere and handed Pepper a clipboard. The archer winked at Bucky before helping the twins unload the rest of Pepper’s requested blooms. He probably drove the van safely to the tower, since there was no driver in sight.

“Bucky?” Wanda asked, her hair a disaster with stray leaves and crumpled petals, “Are you alright?”

He’s not. But how could he say that? Romania had always been the only place he truly called home besides Brooklyn. His parents had been born there, lived together and formed a family of their own. Bucky had been the only child of the Barnes to ever have lived to see Romania through innocent lenses. Rebecca, his sister who followed after him, had been conceived there but was born in America. She would never know the wistful memories of having to wake up to frosty fields dotted with Crocus flowers. Nor would she ever know the feeling of having those childhood memories become nightmares as HYDRA relocated to Romania and forced Bucky to feel nothing but emptiness and pain.

“I’m fine,” Bucky lied through his teeth, “It’s just— weddings, you know?”

Pepper smiled in sympathy and wrongly assumed what made Bucky distressed. Her gentle and kind hands found his, the metal one which was whirring softly in tune with Bucky’s sadness, and squeezed it reassuringly.

“You’ll get this one too, James. I know you will.”

For a moment, Bucky smiled genuinely. He also wished that his memories of the Crocus flowers would be happy ones from here and into the next years of his life.

There was a contemplative noise from miles away.

* * *

**Day 3**

The Avengers had always had a competitive streak. Friday nights, which should really just have been an ordinary happy hour, were turned into drinking competitions or worse, Mario Kart challenges. Tony had to bust out the Iron Man arm for better controls because he was one hundred percent sure that Thor and Clint were cheating. Natasha was banned from the game when everyone kept losing for a month straight.

Which was the reason why now, everyone was huddled together with game faces on.

Bucky sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. How did he ever get himself into a situation like this?

“This is obviously the work of a powerful sorcerer,” Thor observed as he ran his fingertips across the expanse of the golden chains, clasped together and made to bind its wearer until its purpose was served. The unfortunate victims sat sullenly on a black leather couch of the workshop. Steve pathetically tried to shake off the cuff but it was no use. Neither his strength nor Bucky’s metal arm were a match against the magic that ran through the metal.

“I’m sure Dr. Strange has better plans than instigating a rom-com,” Tony commented as he slouched on a chair, “I mean, there are bound to be tons of kiddie parties across the state.”

Clint crouched in front of the supersoldiers and hummed, “Ever tried jolting it a bit? Bombing it out?”

“Wow and I thought I was destructive,” Tony quipped and was jabbed with a sharp elbow by Natasha.

“Doesn’t hurt to try, man.” Clint shrugged. “I bet it sucks to be handcuffed for the rest of your life. How do you even pee like that?”

Bucky scrubbed a hand on his face, “Please don’t tell me you’re going to blow us up too.”

The archer made a not-so-assuring thumbs up before getting his bow and arrow. Tony followed and walked around the workshop to find his tools while Natasha and Bruce sat awkwardly on high stools, looking like they wanted nothing to do with the boys bragging about who will get the handcuffs off first.

“To think I ran down here for a different purpose,” Thor smiled with a tinge of sympathy, “Perhaps, the gods have perfected the timing of my arrival with your unfortunate fate. Don’t worry, my friends. Mjölnir has never failed me yet.”

“Uh, no hammer waving!” Tony yelled from afar as he gathered his equipment in a toolbox, all piled up and disorganized, “Let me and Barton give it a go before you decide to destroy the whole building. I’m all for dramatic flairs but insurance is an ass and Pepper will annihilate me if I give her another headache before the big day arrives.”

Thor laughed and teased as he pointed Mjölnir at Tony’s general direction, “You’re just scared that your technology is no match for ancient magic like ours.”

“And thanks for giving us a heads up that you moved the date of the wedding, Stark,” Steve added moodily, resting his displeased face on the palm of his hand.

“You know I’m trying to help you, right?” Tony glared at the blond supersoldier before turning his attention to the _other_ ridiculously tall blond, “and no, I am not scared of kicking your ass. Is that a challenge I hear, by the way? It sounds suspiciously like it. Last time I heard, you lost a bet… sooo—“

Thor opened and closed his mouth, ready to retaliate before Natasha cut in, “Boys, please. The excessive testosterone is killing me. We have other things to worry about.”

Clint sidestepped and ran past Tony, who squawked in protest. The archer was too damn excited about pointing his explosive arrows at the two soldiers. Bucky didn’t like it at all. Steve mouthed at Natasha to get his shield just in case he needed a cover from the blow— or to bash Clint’s head off for even thinking this is remotely safe. Bucky raised his hand and not so subtly added that Natasha get his handgun as well.

“You two are way too dramatic,” Clint rolled his eyes as he blew a breath, “Steve jumped down from a plane without a chute and he was fine. This will probably feel like an ant bite.”

“Excuse me!?” Bucky growled and glared at Steve, “You fucking what, you punk!?”

“Why would you say that!?” Steve shrieked at Clint. _Traitor!_

The archer shrugged nonchalantly, “Uh, oops?”

That was all the warning they had before Clint drew back the arrow and aimed at the center of the chains. There wasn’t much space for the two to separate to begin with. The chain was a foot long and was progressively growing shorter by the hour. Maybe their desperation to get the damn things off was the only reason why they allowed Clint to shoot.

There was an explosion, but it wasn’t big enough to cause harm to both Bucky and Steve. Once the dark cloud and embers were swept away, Clint was left with the disappointing sight of the chains still intact and sparkling under the artificial light. The leather couch was burnt and maybe Steve and Bucky looked like they tumbled into a chimney but that was all the damage that was done.

From the back, Thor laughed and shook Clint’s shoulder, “It was a good try.”

The archer made a face and flipped the cursed object his middle finger. Bucky laughed at Clint’s gesture while Steve smiled amusedly, trying to remove the dirt away from his eyes. Natasha was kind enough to hand them some warm damp towels before patting their cheeks and strutting away.

“We’re still gonna talk about your dumb stunt, Steve,” Bucky warned as he scrubbed sloppily at his face. Steve remained silent, knowing he would lose this argument. In his defense, the jump wasn’t even that high and he was alive so he didn’t get the problem.

“Alright losers, I’m next!” Tony sauntered over with his power tools and some delicate looking metals. The inventor tinkered with the chains, prodding and flipping it around to check any weak points. JARVIS assisted him the entire time but the chains were smart and continued to learn how to fix its defects every time Tony finds one.

“Bunch of smart motherfuckers,” Tony cursed. Bucky tried to hold an inelegant snort at the shorter brunet’s appearance. The googles really made him look like a giant bug. Bucky was tempted to grab his slipper and threaten Stark with it.

Steve almost scrambled from his seat when Tony came marching in with half of his Iron Man suit. Thor’s laugh boomed loudly across the room, accompanied by Natasha’s delighted shrieks and Bruce’s anxiety-filled disbelief.

“Tony, you’ll rip their arms off!” Bruce cried out as he slipped down from his stool.

“Hey!” Bucky barked at the shorter man, “I already have one metal arm, let’s not make it two.”

Tony held his hands up, “Whatever happened to team trust, huh? Of course I’m not using this in full power. I’ll recalibrate the damn things to be as thin as threads. Focused, yet deadly efficient. Everybody cool?”

“I need a drink for this,” Steve murmured dejectedly. He was feeling terrible every minute. The feeling of being bound and locked in had made Steve feel like the world was smaller and closing in on him. The choking sensation made him want to jump right out of his skin.

Bucky frowned and placed his cuffed hand atop Steve’s own, “Hey. Your friends might be insane but maybe they’re on to something. We’ll get this fixed, alright? Don’t get too riled up, punk.”

“Jerk,” Steve answered automatically with a soft smile as he let Bucky pull him down and scented the side of his head as a form of comfort.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Bruce commented distractedly before he noticed Natasha’s raised brow, “Oh crap, did I say that out loud?”

Tony made a smug face before his repulsor whirred, a familiar sound that Steve only ever heard when they’re on missions. True enough, the beam was as thin as a thread unlike its default settings. The laser tried to eat through the chain but the runes engraved on it cackled and deflected Tony’s laser. Steve and Bucky yelped helplessly as the beam was redirected and cut the couch in a clean half.

“Oh my god,” Tony breathed, “I want one of those.”

“The couch disagrees,” Natasha commented unhelpfully.

“Its magic deems you unworthy,” Thor added.

Bruce held back a laugh as Tony lifted his hands and accused Thor of rigging the metal. The god of thunder simply shrugged as he brandished his weapon and educated the shorter brunet about how magic is a delicate mistress to be courted with strength, fit of a worthy and powerful warrior.

“Alright, sparkly fingers. Let’s see what you got.” Tony declared as he unclapsed bits of his armor, “Don’t feel bad if you can’t get it up for lady magic.”

Thor shrugged with a delighted smile and looked down on the two men who were now seated on the floor, looking positively done with everyone’s shit. Steve sighed as he raised his cuffed hand along with Bucky’s so that Thor could have a clean hit. The moment Mjölnir was raised was the most frightening experience of Bucky’s life— by far. Never mind the torture of HYDRA. Thor’s magic was electrifying, raising the hairs of Bucky’s body along with goosebumps. His insides felt like they were being sucked into a whirpool. Everything was alive and cackled with strength that clearly did not belong to any magic user on earth.

With a battle cry, Thor swooped down and slammed his hammer against the chain. The god’s raw power threw off Tony, Clint, Natasha and Bruce a good feet away from where they were sitting. Steve and Bucky cried out simultaneously as they were tugged away by the wave of Thor’s magic but were held together by the cuffs. Thor blinked stupidly at the cursed object.

It hissed at him before shortening twice in retaliation.

“I think it said, ‘fuck you’ but that’s just a rough translation,” Tony blinked, “It may have said _fucketh thee_.”

“I don’t understand,” Thor muttered as if the mystery of the handcuffs perplexed him to a great extent, “This object can resist Asgardian magic. How is that even possible?”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Bruce muttered while Natasha bit on her perfectly manicured nails.

Steve let out an annoyed groan, “Alright, fine. It couldn’t be destroyed or broken, so what does it want from us? Are we going to get stuck like this forever?”

“There are worse things than being stuck with a dragon.” Tony shrugged, “besides, that’s just like marriage so it’s not that bad, right?”

“Don’t let Pepper hear you say that,” Clint laughed from the side as he snuggled beside Natasha.

Thor hummed, ignoring the relentless banter as he tried to decipher the old runes etched on the metal. Steve and Bucky remained silent and tense, hoping that Thor won’t further piss off whatever magic it is that resides in the cuffs.

“It says here, ‘Thy hearts hath known no rest and thy souls hath plagued the earth. Forever entwine or the noose shall seek your death.’”

“ _Forever entwine_ — what does that even mean?” Clint asked with an incredulous expression.

“Does that mean they have to do the dirty tango?” Tony gasped in delight and clapped his hands together, “Oh god, please tell me it is.”

“No!” Steve yelled, “No— _tango_ whatever.”

“Only _fondue-ing?_ ” Tony smirked and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“How did you—“ Steve gaped, “Howard Stark!”

“Наташа, ты можешь отменить это?” Bucky intervened and eyed Natasha intently. The redhead’s smile faded away as she replied in Russian, saying that her magic is blood-related and that it would cause more harm to both Bucky and Steve since they _have_ blood in them.

“Мне жаль, my magic was made to hurt anything alive,” Natasha apologized with a rough tone. The dragon shifter tipped his head and regarded her with an apologetic expression.

Bruce sighed sadly, “Well, what now?”

“I suggest you do what the cursed object wants you to do,” Thor explained as he rose from his position and walked around the room to lighten the tension seeping down his shoulders. “The cuffs want a sort of bond between you; how to show that, well, I’m not quite sure myself.”

“Is it a ticking time bomb?” Bucky asked, bouncing his leg up and down like a nervous tick.

“Maybe,” Thor replied, “I figure once the chains finally run out, it will do what it threatens to do.”

The judgment sounded so final. Steve and Bucky looked helplessly at each other, stuck in another situation wherein they’re battling for their lives. For some reason, their fists are itching for a good fight or something to destroy beneath their fingertips. The roar and heat of battlefields is an old friend but the combined mayhem and mischief of magic are something else entirely. They are completely at lost; defenseless on how to fight a force that has no presence, no leaders, no armed men to do its bidding.

For the rest of the night, the two men lost in time sat quietly on Steve’s couch. There were no noises, not even the ambient music that Bucky liked to play when Steve’s puttering around the kitchen to make dinner. The whole world was quiet as their minds drowned in waves of anxiety and sadness at their impending doom.

Slowly, Bucky’s calloused fingers crawled their way down to entangle with Steve’s. The blond jolted, a tiny vulnerable gasp escaping his bitten lips as his eyes found their way to Bucky’s own. The brunet looked every bit of resigned and vulnerable as Steve.

“We have to try,” Bucky whispered delicately, like the slightest noise will trigger the chains to further shorten, and with it, their lives. Steve held on and pressed their hands together in a maddening grip. They held hands, drawing strength from each other, grounding themselves in the now. Bucky rubbed gentle circles on Steve’s flesh. It was intimate. It felt like Steve was naked and stripped of his barriers.

“I’ll try something, ‘kay?” Bucky licked his lips and Steve was dazed and a little lost as his gaze tracked the movement. “Gonna do somethin’ stupid, like you always do.”

Steve snorted, “You’re never gonna let that parachute thing go.”

“Never,” Bucky breathed, completely perplexed that he’s now an inch closer to Steve, “If only— if only HYDRA didn’t get me, then I woulda been there, Stevie. Could’ve caught you.”

“Bucky,” Steve whined like he was physically wounded by the brunet’s declaration, “I should be the one sayin’ that.”

“Yeah? Well, will you catch me now?” Bucky urged on, the heat of his body increasing as he surged forward with his hand still entangled with Steve’s. The blond’s lips parted, eyes darkening with desire and there could be no other interpretation for that. It was pure want and lust and Bucky would willingly drown in it.

Their lips met and there wasn’t any explosion behind their eyes. The world kept turning; they were still Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes. There was no slow music or the overwhelming feeling of finally finding the one. It felt—natural; like they were made to do this since they were in their mothers’ bellies. The closeness they shared, now in a kiss, was something that always roared in their hearts; the unmistakable beating of unconditional love. It was a promise to stay no matter what.

_Forever entwine._

Bucky gasped and whined, entirely endeared by Steve’s clumsy attempts to get closer and to lick inside like a personal vendetta. The blond was burning up, groaning and scrunching up his eyes in a desperate attempt to savor the moment. Bucky let Steve play with his lips and then his tongue. The brunet jolted when Steve got bold enough to stick his tongue in and coax Bucky’s to be sucked and nipped.

Holy hell, where did his Stevie learn how to do that?

Bucky’s inner dragon was about to burst when the telltale click of the cuffs rang loudly. The noisy, wet, and lewd sounds of their lips kissing had suddenly stopped. Bucky mourned the loss. Maybe he should cuff them back again?

“Sirs, the curse has lifted. Would you like to inform the rest of the Avengers as protocol?” JARVIS’ voice sounded a little sheepish and Steve didn’t have enough coherent brain cells to comprehend how an AI can even do that.

“Uh—sure thing, Jarvs,” Bucky answered, licking his lips more because he tasted Steve on his mouth and it felt so damn right.

“Could you uhm, just not tell them how it happened,” Steve added. Bucky shrank back a little, feeling a bit hurt that Steve might have been embarrassed, or worse, entirely coerced into kissing the dragon shifter. For all he knew, Bucky’s mind was making up this romantic narrative that Steve was aroused and completely on board.

“Hey,” Steve croaked and Bucky felt himself melt a little at how debauched his little Stevie looked, all messed up hair and blown pupils. Steve was a walking wet dream. “We’re okay, right?”

Bucky smiled, “More than okay.”

* * *

**Day 4**

They really wanted to talk about what happened.

More importantly, Tony wanted to know what happened. It was a matter of financial security and for the sake of his mental health, he said. It was ridiculous. Natasha was grinning so wide, like a spider who knew that her prey is about ready to be eaten anytime soon. Bucky shuddered at the imagery but his brain was an idiot for even thinking that up in the first place.

So, yes, they were going to talk about it.

Until they saw a stray puppy in the middle of a recon mission.

Steve and Bucky definitely became parents for a moment but they still didn’t talk about it.

Somewhere above the clouds, an annoyed sigh rang.

Clint might have also cursed during the night when the third month hit.

* * *

**Day 5**

Bucky was losing his mind and Steve’s going along for the ride.

This really can’t be happening.

It all started with a faint tune, a small sound that was inconsequential as the ringing of a pop song through an agent’s phone. It happened more than twice, and said agents were embarrassed that they had Beyoncé rocking it out while they were walking down the corridors for a meeting.

Bucky’s hearing had been sensitive and so was Steve’s. It wasn’t new to them to hear things that weren’t even five feet near them, so they shrugged it off.

Things got crazy when they went to a nearby café for breakfast. Steve proclaimed that he had a demon in his stomach telling him to get sticky cinnamon buns and French toast drizzled with honey. Bucky told him to shove it but indulged the blond otherwise. The dragon shifter was itching for a tall mocha and the sickeningly sweet strawberry shortcakes that the locals boasted as ‘so sweet, you’ll leave your honeys away.’

They piled their trays as high as was acceptable in public, sat down outside where they could watch people and other creatures walk by, and just generally enjoyed a day off. It was peaceful and achingly domestic, with their feet finding each other and shoving like teenage boys. That was all the normality they could get before the singing started.

Oh god, the singing.

The tiny twink (Bucky’s comment which earned him an elbow jab from Steve) working on the counter started singing what sounded like a modern love song. It was lively and energetic, good enough that the kid hit his highest tones like a pro soprano. The customers were impressed and some looked like they wanted to walk out, until they too started singing along.

“What the hell?” Bucky breathed as his nose adorably scrunched up in confusion.

Suddenly, a band started playing along the streets, their drums, trumpets, and xylophones echoing through the busy New York crowd like there was a huge event. There wasn’t. Steve checked this morning.

As if that wasn’t crazy enough, giant floats started appearing all primed and sparkled to get the attention of many. There were women dressed in what looked like 1920’s clothing, others in skimpy little garments with feathers sprouting from their backs as if they’re trying to imitate peacocks. Men from the nearby construction site did jumps and somersaults, acrobatics that should definitely be left to professionals. Bucky was losing his goddamn mind.

“Uh, anybody getting an update on what’s happening down here?” Steve said through his phone, a flip one because he’s a giant dork and a grandpa in a body of a Greek god.

“We’re detecting a lot of movement and magic but nothing malevolent, Steve,” Natasha replied, the clink of her nails typing rapidly on a keyboard. “I thought you two were on a sweet morning date. Why are you calling me? I’m not available to be a third wheel.”

“Not the time, Nat,” Steve grunted as he ducked to avoid huge flags waving the iconic rainbow colors along with other decorations that were too bright and definitely rolled over too much glitter. The singing continued, everyone was smiling and laughing like they were in love. “There’s definitely something wrong. People just— I don’t know, broke into a song number.”

“Steve,” Bucky called out pathetically as children started placing flowers in his long hair, braiding the soft dark curls back in an intricate design. A silver ribbon was woven through the braid, highlighting the beautiful chocolate color of Bucky’s hair. The dragon shifter looked like he was yanked straight out of a fairy tale book. Steve couldn’t resist taking a picture until a stray dove appeared, carrying a circlet of orange tinted flowers and placing it on Bucky’s head.

Steve laughed so hard, he might have broken a rib.

Bucky glared at him before the children scrambled to get to Steve. The blond was helpless against the whims of the kids, all smiles missing their front teeth, with cheeks as pink as a kitten’s nose. They also put flowers on Steve’s hair but not as plentiful as Bucky’s since the blond had shorter locks.

“Looks good, punk.” Bucky grinned before he was dragged away and lost within the fray of singing New Yorkers. Steve looked around before closing his phone and diving into the mess. There were too many bodies but they made way for him as they sang their happy little song. Brides came twirling with their white gowns, fluffed tulle and laces making Steve cough slightly as the grooms carried their brides into the air.

“Bucky?” Steve yelled until he found the brunet in the middle of the park, sitting on the giant water fountain. The shifter looked confused but there was a blush on his face as the crowd parted and made way for Steve. The song was now different; more on the tones of melancholy and meeting a loved one after the war.

_‘Never thought that you would be_

_Standing here so close to me’_

“Heya, Buck.” Steve smiled softly and approached Bucky slowly. The sun was bright and the birds chirped louder than they usually did. The hustle and bustle of traffic was far away. This moment might have been influenced by magic, but Steve knew not to shy away from an opportunity. Something was going on but it’s not hurting anyone.

_‘There's so much I feel that I should say_

_But words can wait until some other day’_

Bucky smiled back at Steve with equal fondness, knowing that they were in a ridiculous situation but loving every moment of it. They were surrounded by people who sang of love and lost time, words and sentiment that had long been trapped in their throats since the war separated them.

_‘Kiss me once, then kiss me twice_

_Then kiss me once again_

_It's been a long, long time_

_Haven't felt like this, my dear’_

And it’s true. They haven’t felt this way for so long that their minds forgot what happiness, pure unhindered joy, could ever feel like. It was pitiful, how their moments together were so little and tinted with uncertainty. After everything that the world robbed them off, it’s about time they took something back.

_‘Since I can't remember when_

_It's been a long, long time’_

Steve sat beside Bucky and pressed their foreheads together, hoping that this one time, their song won’t be about long years of separation. He hopes that from now on, it will be about growing old and spending the rest of their lives together, in whatever capacity Bucky takes him. Be it a friend, or hopefully— a future partner, Steve would do anything to stay by James Buchanan Barnes’ side.

From a distance, a man with slicked inky black hair and a dark suit watches the scene unfold. The man smiles, a tiny little smirk that shows his pride for his work. With a last slurp of his drink, he puts his glasses on and let the humans be released from his magic.

The ominous sound of thunder made him disappear quicker than he planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a crazy ride and definitely challenging because I am not a master of writing emotional crack. (ohmygod that sounded so wrong) Anyway, I really have no good explanation for this. I really just wanted to see how far I can mess with people.
> 
> Thank you so much for the support and all the readers out there.  
> I'm so sorry that I'm not updating faster.  
> Currently, I'm having some sort of... lack of creativity.
> 
> We're nearing the endgame *cough*. This is only limited to 10-11 chapters so hold on tight.
> 
> Also if anyone here is still on tumblr, you can connect with me here
> 
> As always, stay awesome!


	8. Till The End of The Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh TW: Angst... like... really bad angst. oops.

Bucky should have known it was coming.

The past weeks have been too good to him. It was a fast blur of wedding preparations and an unplanned bonding time with one Tony Stark. The two men had been forced to a close friendship when Tony had accompanied Bucky to a relatively remote island with two active volcanoes. Bucky thought it was a joke that the other brunet would wear a printed Hawaiian shirt. It wasn’t.

They were saved the time from crawling up the jagged stones by using Bucky as their lift. It wasn’t an experience that the dragon shifter would like to repeat because Tony had been yelling lines from what seems to be a character from a famous fictional show, while perched on Bucky’s dragon form. It was embarrassing to say the least but Bucky pushed on because he had an important mission.

Tony didn’t understand why Bucky can’t just buy a shiny piece of diamond and call it a day. The dragonshifter scoffed at the idea. Dragons were put through trials of literal fire to retrieve a courting gift to symbolize their sincerity and fierce passion for their intended. Buying a gift, no matter how expensive in human terms, was cheap and cowardly. 

Only, the price that had to be paid was sucked out of Tony.

Bucky had emerged victoriously from the pool of molten lava, a shiny amber stone in his grasp, when suddenly a group of cultists attacked from nowhere. Tony’s iron suit might have been resistant against fire power but it wasn’t specifically cloaked against the shadier types of dark magic that were old as the earth.

Tony got hit. Bucky’s dragon form roared and burned through the bizarre cultist group and carried Tony far away, his iron suited body dangled from Bucky’s teeth. It turned out that the inventor-slash-billionaire had a secret life threatening heart condition.

It brought a whole new meaning to the Stark-Potts wedding ceremony.

Bucky had been plagued with guilt but was eternally relieved when Tony jumped back to his old self again, though with strict instructions from the healers that he should stay in bed. The dark magic that hit him didn’t make any serious damage after all. For once, they got really lucky.

It was all his fault. If he hadn’t dragged Stark to that volcano, the other wouldn’t have weakened himself severly that JARVIS had to take over their jet to get them back to the Tower as fast as possible. Bucky felt so selfish, pulling in innocent people. And for what? To get Steve something pretty.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Pepper stated quietly as she slid from the door of Tony’s room, a little bowl filled with water on her hip, “He always gets like this. It’s not your doing.”

“I didn’t know,” Bucky’s voice trembled, eyeing the younger Stark as he tried to get comfortable.

“Not a lot of people do,” Pepper assured him. “Tony’s weak heart condition isn’t something that we all like to talk about. This is why I’m trying so hard to get the mating rites to be done early.”

Bucky raised a brow at the elf before he was answered with a dainty laugh. Pepper smiled conspiratorily, “I’m sure you know how mating bonds tend to benefit both parties, especially when the other is sick. You balance each other out. It’s an old tale but I can assure you it’s very real.”

Bucky gulped, “I remember the stories. Ain’t no dame in our neighbourhood who can’t keep talkin’ about it; s’possed to be romantic or somethin’.” Bucky didn’t mention how he desperately wanted to offer Steve the same thing, when the blond was wheezing out what sounded like his last breath. Nobody needed to know that.

“It is,” Pepper smiled softly, tucking strands of her hair behind her pointed ears. “I’m excited for that day. After that, I can finally fall asleep without worrying whether Tony’s coming home or not.”

The shifter smiled painfully, his lips pressed together in a line that screams how much he understood the feeling. The sleepless nights he’d spend sitting on the foot of his and Steve’s shared bed, wondering if his best guy is ever going to make it through the incoming winter. It was agony. But Bucky was glad that Pepper has the chance that he regrets he never took before.

Bucky’s courting gift sits heavily on the shifter’s shaking palm.

* * *

It didn’t even take a week before Tony was up and running again, much to Bucky’s combined relief and annoyance. Steve had been sweet on his best guy, consoling Bucky and trying to get him to eat properly. It was a wild ride of three days before Tony himself sang some old song, out of tune, and obnoxiously loud outside Steve’s apartment, to declare that he is officially cleared. The dragon shifter sighed in relief until Tony kept pestering him about the mating gift that he ‘almost died for’. Bucky snorted. He needed it to be done perfectly, and Tony on the brink of death is not the time for proposals.

“You’re killing me, chuckles.” Tony sighed dramatically, placing a palm on his heart as if Bucky personally offended him. The dragon shifter shoved the smaller brunet. Maybe they can truly be friends in the near future.

Steve smiled softly before herding Tony away. It was a small blessing.

Unfortunately, for the two, it wasn’t the last time they will ever have to deal with Tony Stark again. Wedding night is almost upon them. There was a strange buzz in the air that was making Bucky’s palms feel sweaty. Everyone was just bursting with life, scuttling through the Stark Tower with a spring on their steps. Natasha smiled more frequently, smelling of cakes and that distinct smell of high-end malls. She made it her personal mission to help out Pepper in anyway she can.

“What do you think? Apricot or Peach?” Natasha questioned Bucky with a determined gaze, raising two invitation cards for each corresponding colors. She looked more like a hired killer about to pick her weapons than a wedding assistant.

“Uhh,” Bucky muttered cluelessly because Steve was the resident artist. He knew what colors looked nice but there are times when they just looked completely the same.

Natasha frowned, prompting Bucky to panic and sputter out a color that he didn’t even think about. It took a few seconds before she lifted up a brow and full on laughed at his face. She did pick the apricot colored card and marked it with a pen with gold ink.

“So... you like weddings?” Bucky prompted as he tucked his socked foot underneath him. He was tasked with cutting ribbons and golden cords. Natasha almost kicked him in the head when he suggested cutting them with his dragon fire.

The redhead made a soft noise, “I like anything that has nothing to do with my job. It can get repetitive.”

Bucky made a humming noise before the door inched open, showing the struggling form of Steve carrying boxes of what smelled like pressed and dried flowers. Steve’s cheeks were flushed, a bead of sweat clinging stubbornly on his forehead.

“Oh good, an artist to finally save us,” Natasha grinned before making grabby hands at the boxes of supplies. Bucky stood up and took some of them from Steve, loving the way how the blond smiled tenderly at him. There was no doubt that something shifted in their relationship but they remained silent about it, understanding that there are no words to be said as of the moment.

Natasha rolled her eyes before grabbing her pen again, scribbling on the apricot card and saying out loud, “You are cordially invited to the wedding of James Buchanan Barnes and Steven Grant Rogers—“

“Okay, we get it!” Steve squawked.

“—if and when they get their delightful heads out of their asses and help me with a design,” Natasha finished with a satisfied smirk before handing the lettered card to Steve. The blond made a face, sticking his tongue out childishly while Natasha imitated him.

“Whoa is it that time of the day again?” Clint butted in from the door, armed with frosty drinks and several feet of laces trailing behind him.

“I fucking love you, Clint,” Natasha sighed when she saw her favorite fruit drink. Clint just knew when to bribe Natasha. It was a skill he learned over the past few years of knowing her. A lot of people joke that it’s one of the indicators that they were meant together. Natasha would usually make a weird disgusted face but her glowing aura would say otherwise.

“Hey, you all heard that, right?” Clint bragged before relinquishing the drink and pressing a soft kiss on the redhead’s hair. Steve had a particular look on his face as he watched the two. Bucky was wondering if he felt the same need to suddenly get their lips to touch again.

The four got to work, assembling different materials to see what the best outcome is. At some point, it became a contest turned mission. Steve and Bucky teamed up against Natasha and Clint, bragging and teasing each other about their work. Natasha complained about Steve’s advantage of going to art school before the war, while Bucky defended his best guy and argued that Natasha had more exposure to wedding stuff now that she’d been shopping for weeks.

It was a general disaster but surprisingly they managed to work out a rather beautiful invitation card. Though, Natasha had to pinch Bucky and Clint’s ears because boys just had to have an obsession with making dicks. They made an impressive Iron Man penis, with all the right colors of the suit. It suspiciously was not thrown into the trash.

Tony’s hard laugh and wheezing could be heard in the middle of the night, three days before the wedding.

* * *

The event was sweet and it should have been a blaring sign of a warning to Bucky if he knew better.

Weddings were generally not Bucky’s thing, always having to deal with restrictive suits and acting properly for the entirety of the day. The one good thing Bucky liked about it before is he could dress up and charm the ladies into some interesting conversation before he rotted his brains out of boredom. Steve, small little Stevie in too large suits, would frown at him and that’s when the brunet would know his game is over.

In the future though, and with elven traditions, weddings were definitely more fun. For one thing, all the guests, together with the bride and groom, wore simple white dresses and shirts with no shoes. Everyone’s bare feet padded through soft, plush grass and Bucky loved it. The whole formal part of the ceremony was spoken in an old language but its meaning carried the message clearly. The soft scent of Crocus flowers made the shifter a little emotional. Steve was nice enough not to comment on Bucky’s suspicious sniffling.

Of course, Tony had been secretly dying to get to the good part. The brunet had the biggest grin before leaning in and kissing Pepper on the lips with a softness that Bucky had never seen in Stark. The moment was frozen, trickling through time like honey as the couple ignored the sound of loud cheers and lewd jeers. The world disappeared and Bucky felt an ache in his heart that he couldn’t name. By his side, Steve’s eyes shone with unshed tears. Bucky wanted to know if Steve felt the same funny feeling under his ribs. He didn’t ask. It won’t be the first time he didn’t ask anyway.

By the time the noises finally died down, the couple had already walked down from the elevated altar and weaved their way through the curtain of flowers hanging from thin strings of lights. The band hired by Stark, a gaggle of different creatures that reminded Bucky of the Howlies, started to play an upbeat tune meant for fast dancing. There was a friendly competition between the humans and the non-humans. Even Sam was shameless as he threw some dance moves along with his mate. Bucky called it his bird dance.

Of course, it wasn’t a surprise that a fair number of dames and brave men tried to get a dance with Steve. He was a known figure of justice in their cluster and even without that, Steve had an appeal that commanded attention. Once the guy walks into the room, there’s no way any type of living being with working eyes could ever look away. Bucky gulped and immediately felt what it was like for his little Stevie back in Brooklyn. There was a sense of pride but also the thick clasp of dread as Bucky watched his best guy twirl with a number of pretty faces.

“Dance with me,” Natasha greeted with red painted lips. For once, she wore soft colors of white and coral fabric that swayed smoothly along the top of her knees. It was loose and allowed a lousier and free movement. “You look depressed,” she finished with a cat-like grin.

Bucky made a soft snort. “I’m really not.”

Natasha wasn’t persuaded, pulling up the bulk of Bucky’s weight up off the chair he permanently resided in for the rest of the evening. The redhead coaxed the reluctant shifter towards the open dance hall, light bulbs of different shapes and sizes glimmered along the crystal beads that weaved and arched through the low hanging flowers. The effect was gorgeous on Natasha. Her hair brightened a fiery red like she was an avenging angel, ready to wreak havoc on the dance floor. Bucky wondered where the hell Clint was, leaving a beautiful dame like Nat to hunt a dance partner on her own.

It turns out that the couple had already glided through two waltz songs. Bucky felt pathetic that he didn’t even notice them. He had been too focused on watching Steve and the blond’s slightly awkward sway with the music. It was endearing, seeing Steve with his huge mass and height trying so hard not to topple over his petite partners. Bucky’s inner dragon told him that he was better suited in their place. He was born and bred a warrior. He’d be a worthy partner for Steve. Bucky didn’t dwell that much on that train of thought, not wanting to stink up the place with his possessive scent.

Natasha didn’t even say much. She’d comment about some of the people on the dance floor in smooth, flawless Russian. Bucky would snort, especially when Natasha started saying awful things about the higher ups that she didn’t particularly like. It was good diversion. Bucky should have really known better.

“Oh! Sorry!” Steve squawked when his body collided with Bucky. When the hell did they even get close to Steve’s general direction?

“Fancy seeing you here, Rogers.” Natasha purred as she pulled herself away from Bucky’s grip. Oh no. Hell no.

“I’ve been here since twenty minutes ago,” Steve sighed and he sounded a little put out by it. The blonde girl in his arms didn’t even notice it, completely focused on Bucky’s metal arm instead. The brunet shifter immediately tensed as he read the girl’s body language. She was uncomfortable and wanted to bolt away. No doubt she was some daughter of an important man who knew things; things about James Buchanan Barnes and HYDRA.

Steve seemed to notice too, his lips thining into an impressive line of discontent. Bucky was about to excuse himself when the girl stuttered an excuse of her own before disappearing into the crowd. Natasha had a particular nasty look on her. It wouldn’t surprise Bucky if she was the reason why the blonde ran away.

“That was charming,” Natasha drawled, clearly not impressed by the girl’s behavior. “I guess I’m lending you my partner, Steve. Can’t let you get dragged into another dance with a stranger after all. I’m such an angel.”

Bucky was opening and closing his mouth like a disgruntled fish before he was shoved into Steve’s arms. There was an audible gulp, probably from Bucky, before the two found their way to wind their arms across each other. Steve smiled that brave smile of his, like he wasn’t going back down on a challenge. Bucky wasn’t as graceful. The old James Barnes might have been smooth and brave enough to try and make his gorgeous partner swoon. Tonight, James Barnes was just a shadow of a memory. Bucky Barnes was now in charge of the show. _Oh gods, what was he supposed to do again?_

“You look good, Buck.” Steve smiled shyly, betraying the confidence he wore on his face just a few seconds ago. His dark golden hair glowed under the lights, framed by Crocus flowers that swayed with the cool evening air. Maybe Bucky didn’t need to associate bad memories with those flowers after all.

In that moment, Bucky wanted to smile. He wanted to hold Steve close and tell the other how much Steve meant to him, that he was the sun and the warmth that Bucky had lost all those years ago. He wanted to tell him that Steve was loved and cherished, that no force in this world could make Bucky forget how much he wanted to be by Steve’s side forever. It was at the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill like the tides held back by mere wooden fences. Bucky wanted to confess everything but he was also afraid. Afraid that maybe Steve would form affections for him out of obligation or that he’d wrongly interchange the feelings of familial love with romantic ones; that the kiss they shared wasn’t entirely what he thought it was and that by confessing, he’d condemn Steve to a life he did not want.

So Bucky smiled sadly and pressed his cheek on Steve’s chest, feeling soothed by the dull thud of Steve’s heartbeat underneath the thin white fabric. His best guy had frowned and held Bucky closer, placing a warm palm on his back as they swayed slowly with the music. Bucky closed his eyes, praying to the heavens that they give him strength to finally accept that he was worthy of Steve’s love and that maybe a happy ending was meant for him.

The heavens obviously did not smile upon him.

* * *

In the present, Bucky was stuck under a fallen beam. There were explosions everywhere, the sounds of open fire rattling continuously like HYDRA and SHIELD wanted it to literally rain bullets. Sam was shouting for him. The winged man was far away but Bucky’s sensitive hearing can pinpoint that he was just somewhere east of him.

SHIELD knew it was going to be a messy situation since HYDRA was involved. What they didn’t expect was that HYDRA was a lot bigger than what their intelligence dug out. Necromancers were crawling everywhere, threads of rotting magic weaving through the air like sluggish nets as they forced the dead to rise and fight for them. It sickened Bucky to see the recently deceased SHIELD agents become puppets, forced to fire on their own team. The Avengers changed tactics and tried to incapacitate rather than kill. It wasn’t working too well for them. The smell of mountain air was already tainted with the putrid scent of death and gunpowder

“Bucky, where the hell are you!?” Sam shouted as he circled the perimiter, his wings shaking a bit with effort from flying too long.

“I’m right here!” Bucky screamed and tried not to dwell on the fact that maybe his leg had something sticking out of it. He could always transform into a dragon but he might end up giving more dead bodies to the necromancers. _Shit_.

Sam dove down and ran towards the shifter’s crumpled form. With their combined strength, they pushed the beam off of Bucky just in time to avoid a fire ball coming straight at them. Fucking stupid evil wizards and their stupid glorified glowy toothpicks. Bucky wanted to crush them with his teeth.

“You seen Steve?” Bucky asked because why the hell would he not ask about Steve’s safety first. The guy had the self-preservation of an ocean sunfish, flopping awkwardly while a seal ate its head.

Sam pressed his lips and pointed at an area where the fire fight was the heaviest. The shifter internally cursed as he released some of his power to shift halfway, sprouting horns and dragon scales along his exposed skin. If he can’t burn HYDRA then he’ll freeze them alive. He’ll let them know what it feels like to be put in cryo.

Bucky slid through the battlefield, using his ice to propel himself further. HYDRA did its best to recapture him but the Winter Soldier was known for its efficiency. Bucky finally tasted what freedom felt like; he won’t go down without a fight.

Sam trailed after him along with the cursed arrows from Clint. HYDRA agents were falling like limp ragdolls as they cleared the way towards Steve. They were so focused on getting to the other side that they completely missed a hooded figure sneaking through battle. He was seemingly avoiding Thor’s line of sight but generally did not put much effort in cloaking himself.

 **“STEVE!”** Bucky growled as he caged the walking corpses in ice prisons. Steve was somewhere near an elevated rock formation, battling a creature that looked like it crawled from hell. Steve was panting harshly, evading each blow and throwing his own with blinding speed. Bucky panicked, a spike of fear coursing through his veins as his inner dragon scream _‘Danger! Get him out! Get him out!’_ in rapid fire.

It all happened so fast. Steve was there, raising his shield high and ready to deliver the final blow, when something grabbed him by the leg and pulled him down to the high drop of the ravine. Bucky screamed, not even noticing that he had transformed fully to try and catch Steve but he snagged back by a barbed whip from one of HYDRA’s. Sam bolted towards Steve, knowing that Clint had already shot down the agent that captured Bucky.

It was too late.

He was falling.

Oh gods, he was falling the same way Bucky did, like it was some cruel cosmic joke.

Steve lay limp on the jagged floor, crimson blood oozing fast from behind his head. Sam cursed colorfully, trying to call out to his friend while assessing if he had any further injuries. A blow hit Sam in the face, shoving him off of Steve in a gust of hot steam. Natasha yelled something in an icy, frightened tone before whisps of dark magic grabbed at Steve by the head, forcing its tendrils into the unconscious soldier.

Steve jolted and screamed as his mind rearranged itself. His memories shattered and exploded behind his eyes before they reformed again into meaningless images. He vaguely heard a sorrowful bellow of a dragon before something else took hold of him. Steve fought relentlessly, wrestling with the force that’s trying to make him submit.  He wasn’t very lucky. The world shifted and crackled until Steve was no more.

With horrified eyes, Bucky watched as Steve writhed, contorting into weird angles before his screams finally died on his lips. Bucky unhooked himself for the HYDRA agent’s magic, reining in his own powers so that he could approach Steve without the danger of crushing the blond with his dragon body.

“Steve!” Bucky cried out in agony as he limped to where Steve lay incredibly still. They didn’t see the caster but there’s no doubt that Natasha and Tony were already after them. Bucky’s aggressive side wanted to tear the caster apart but nothing is more important than staying by Steve’s side. The shifter made soft crooning noises as he pawed at Steve, hoping that the blond would wake and call him a jerk.

“Stevie, please...” Bucky begged in tears. “Don’t do this to me. I can’t— not again.”

For frightening seconds, Steve remained completely still. Bucky begged and prayed fervently that he will finally man up and be honest to his Stevie if only he’d be given a chance to straighten their life again. It was too much. Time and death pulled them apart for too long. Bucky will no longer let himself be held back by fears. He can’t. Not again.

Bucky held his breath, a high whine escaping his throat as Steve breathed deeply. The blond grunted, slowly opening his grime covered eyelids before they revealed the most horrifying imagery Bucky had to endure.

For all the years of torture, pain, and loneliness, Bucky would willingly go through it again just to be spared from this.

Steve’s eyes, a gorgeous morning sky of blue which mirrored his gentle soul, were now blood red and blank. The orbs which used to spark with joy and righteous anger now glazed over in a blank stare. Steve was gone. It was like Bucky was staring at the weapon he used to be.

“No...” Bucky’s voice wavered as Steve stared straight through him, unseeing like a puppet ready to be pulled by its strings.

In a sickening twist of fate, Steve’s glazed eyes finally focused on Bucky’s face. The brunet trembled; hoping desperately that Steve can fight off whatever it is that took hold of his consciousness. All hope was lost when Steve rammed his soot covered shield into Bucky’s direction, aiming to land a blow on his head. Bucky acted instinctively and caught the shield with his metal arm, a loud clanging noise echoing through the field. With a grunt, Steve kicked Bucky a few feet away before ramming his knee into the shifter’s stomach.

Bucky cried out in pain, trying to contain the feeling of wanting to vomit, before he pushed Steve’s limb away and aimed an elbow at the blond’s chin. Steve avoided the blow, raising up his shield just in time for Bucky’s metal arm to punch against it. The shifter growled as he violently shoved the shield off and kicked Steve square in the chest with his whole body weight.

The blond fell to the ground with a loud thud, immediately curling himself behind his shield before Bucky shot at him with his ice. It was meant to keep Steve still but obviously the blond did not want to be caught so easily. There was a loud crack of ice before Steve ran into the line of fire, Bucky’s hand gun shaking slightly in his hand. He didn’t want to shoot Steve. But Steve gave him no choice.

Bucky shot two to three rounds, bullets ricocheting from the shield before Steve kicked the hand gun away, hitting Bucky’s wrist with a sickening crunch and forcing him to let go. Steve rammed the shield again but the shifter caught it midway and punched Steve in the face with his flesh hand. With a practiced turn, Bucky flipped Steve over and grabbed the shield from him.

“Steve, stop!” Bucky yelled at Steve who remained dazed with bloodlust. “Please don’t make me do this.”

Steve tipped his head uncaringly before he stood up and stalked Bucky like the brunet was a pest that needed to be eliminated. This is wrong. Everything about this is wrong. Bucky felt like he had probably died under that metal beam and is now in hell for all the things he had done for HYDRA; because if there’s one fitting hell for Bucky, it would be losing Steve to his captors.

Steve and Bucky struggled with each other for what felt like eons. Both sustained damage with Steve shot on the thigh while Bucky heaved heavily as he tried to move past the pain of his own knife slicing down his chest. With one last push, Steve clamped his hand around Bucky’s neck, choking him, then threw his whole body down the dirt. Bucky cried fat tears as the pointed rocks ripped through his uniform but nothing felt as awful as seeing Steve with such murderous intent on his face. They have bastardized Steve. They ruined him. Now, Bucky feared that when Steve finally wakes, he’d have to deal with the heartbreak of killing his Bucky.

Sweet, gentle Steve who would slowly open his eyes to Bucky’s lifeless body and scream and scream until his throat can scream no more. He’d blame himself all over again and the nightmares would eat at him slowly, like vultures picking off decaying flesh. Steve would suffocate and die as a lifeless doll forced to live with a sin he cannot atone for.

Bucky wouldn’t allow that.

“You like our new replacement, soldier?” A cruel voice purred in sync with the telltale hissing of a snake. Bucky felt his bones go rigid as his eyes landed on a huge basilisk slithering through the battlefield like it wasn’t peppered with bloodied corpses.

It was only in that moment that Bucky realized that they were truly outnumbered, that SHIELD had fallen and almost all HYDRA agents had their blood painted guns pointed behind SHIELD agents’ heads. Of course, of fucking course, some of their own apparently had been working for HYDRA all along. That smug son of a bitch Rumlow and his Strike Team, a team that worked under Steve, now had high level agents bleeding under their boots.

Sam was down, his right wing bloodied and torn as it was trapped in metal wires. Clint was nowhere to be found, most likely hiding with Natasha somewhere up the mountains. Thor was missing. Bruce was forced back down into his human form, weak and unconscious under dozens of spell work winding around his wrists and ankles. Tony was breathing hard under the weight of a giant horned hound from the underworld.

The most disconcerning was Wanda and Pietro, the twins clinging to each other for dear life as Wanda pressed a hand on her opened mouth. It was not doubt she could see the magic manipulating Steve’s mind. Whatever it looked like, it must have been horrifying.

“You should have stayed where you were,” the voice of the basilisk hissed, its body covered in dark red scales slithering towards where Bucky was trapped. It morphed and bent, its sides fading away as it gave way to a form of a human being; a human being who had SHIELD under his thumb.

Alexander Goodwin Pierce.

The man who called himself Bucky’s owner.

“Now look at what you’ve done.”

Bucky let out an animalistic yell but Steve did not let him move. The blond soldier straddled him, keeping Bucky in a helpless position. The shifter couldn’t transform, not while Steve was in danger of being burnt or crushed to death. HYDRA planned this out well.

Bucky’s metal arm whirred in distress, “You—let ‘im go.”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to demand favors from me, soldier.” Pierce smiled with what looked like an eerie sense of pity for a cockroach he’s about to step on. “Captain Steven Rogers is a very valuable asset. He’s going to bring the world to a new century; a task that you failed in.”

Bucky hissed, “I won’t let you take him! **He’s mine!** ”

Pierce’s lips curled as he bent down to Bucky’s eye level. The older man made a soft reprimanding noise before snaking his own hand behind Steve’s neck. Bucky roared in anger, his black scales crawling further into his skin as a sign that he was losing control.

“Nothing here is yours,” Pierce hummed under his breath and patted Steve’s cheek like a pet dog. “Kill him.”

Bucky’s eyes widened in panic, licking his dry lips as he felt the air around him thinning.

“Please! Just take me!” Bucky yelled after Pierce who had his back turned. Like a thousand times before, his ‘owner’ did not acknowledge him.

Steve raised his fist, swooping down violently on Bucky’s exposed cheek. The shifter gasped as the pain exploded in his head, the scent of anxiety wafting weakly through the air. Oh gods. Steve might still be conscious. He might have been forced to watch as the blond beat Bucky into a pulp.

Bucky had to do something.

“Steve,” Bucky croaked as blood dripped from his bloodied mouth, broken teeth scraping his tongue raw. “I know you’re in there. I know you could hear me.”

A fist slammed right into Bucky’s left eye.

“You know me!” Bucky yelled blindly as he grappled with the hand that’s pinning him down.

“No, I don’t.” Steve answered finally, after long hours of silence since he woke up. The shifter trembled at the emotionless response.

“Steve, you’ve known me your whole life.” Bucky pleaded with tears in his eyes. “Your name is Steven Grant Rogers!”

For a moment, Steve stiffened. His eyes went wide before the blond snarled aggressively, breaking his emotionless state and continued to beat Bucky’s face into the ground. There was raw anger and desperation, like he was trying so hard to save something. Bucky went limp in pain as Steve’s fist rained down on him. The world went incredibly still. Screams and the whistling of bullets firing were muted and dulled.

It took time before Steve wore himself out, his fist curled uselessly in the air. Bucky couldn’t even see very well behind his swollen eyes but Steve’s face showed doubt. The uncertainty on his skin mixed with blood and sweat made Bucky whimper in sorrow for the man he loved the most.

He had failed him. He let Steve fall into HYDRA’s hands and now his Steve will be the new weapon of evil. He couldn’t. Bucky couldn’t stomach the thought.

There was no way Bucky could completely shield Steve from the pain. It had to be one or the other. Whatever he was going to do was the lesser evil, even if it will literally kill him. It was necessary. He owed his best guy a chance in life. Steve was the good person. Bucky prayed that he would forgive him for what he's about to do.

With a bloodied smile, Bucky raised his flesh hand and muttered, “It’s okay— Steve. I’m with you till... the end of the line.”

Bucky opened his mouth, releasing his broken fangs and bit through Steve’s exposed flesh on his neck which was infected by the tendrils. The shifter cried as he closed his eyes and sucked the black magic out of Steve’s system. The blond stilled as the distinct wail of Wanda echoed in a haunting tune.

 

 

Then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry! This is the only chapter with that much heavy angst. 
> 
> We'll fix this right away.
> 
> Thank you again for continuing to read this story. It's really just an experiment so I appreciate the kudos and comments! I haven't been able to update this (along with my other fics) because I've been setting up my art accounts. 
> 
> Feel free to visit me there (since there's tons of stucky material that I draw):  
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> [Twitter](http://twitter.com/MishkaYustina)
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> If you like any of my work, feel free to drop me some coffee here in this tip box:  
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> And here's a fanart from me to make up for the angst! Sorry!  
> 


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